Trump Signs Exec Order Restoring Removed Monuments

President Trump signed an executive order Thursday aimed at overhauling the Smithsonian to combat what he calls "divisive, race-centered" narratives pushed under the Biden administration, according to RedState.com.

Titled "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History," the order criticizes the museum system’s recent direction: “Once widely respected... the Smithsonian Institution has, in recent years, come under the influence of a divisive, race-centered ideology,” it states, arguing such views frame American and Western values as “inherently harmful and oppressive.”

The order tasks Vice President JD Vance, a member of the Smithsonian’s Board of Regents, with leading efforts to “remove improper ideology” across the institution.

President Trump’s latest executive order targets the Smithsonian, aiming to restore what he calls a truthful, uplifting view of American history and culture. The directive criticizes recent shifts toward “divisive, race-centered ideology” and tasks Vice President JD Vance with rooting out “improper ideology” across its museums and research centers.

The RedState.com report quotes the order: “It is the policy of my Administration to restore Federal sites… to solemn and uplifting public monuments that remind Americans of our extraordinary heritage,” the order states, insisting museums should educate, not “indoctrinate.”

The order also instructs Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to review and “restore” public monuments removed over the past five years. A White House fact sheet says many were taken down to “perpetuate a false revision of history” or unfairly disparage historical figures.

Critics quickly lashed out. Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) wrote on X: “You cannot erase our past.” But as Trump allies note, this comes from a party that demanded the removal of statues of figures like George Washington and Jefferson.

Trump’s move follows earlier efforts to reclaim institutions from what he calls far-left ideologues—turning places like the Smithsonian and the Kennedy Center into cultural battlegrounds.

Past controversies at the Smithsonian include omitting Justice Clarence Thomas from its African American history museum in 2016—later correcting it only under pressure—and celebrating transgender activists like Sylvia Rivera in its American Women’s History Museum. It even preserved a suit worn by Rep. Andy Kim (D-NJ) during Capitol cleanup after January 6, a move critics call symbolic pandering.

The order sets a deadline of July 4, 2026—America’s 250th birthday—for completing all reforms. “President Trump aims to ensure that the Smithsonian… sparks children’s imagination, celebrates American history and ingenuity… and makes America proud,” the White House said.