Trump Overhauls Museums, Parks to Remove ‘Anti-American’ Content

President Trump has issued executive orders targeting what he calls 'anti-American ideology' at cultural institutions including the Smithsonian and national parks. His administration has removed slavery exhibits, restored Confederate statues, and renamed the Kennedy Center, drawing criticism from civil rights groups who say these actions erase important history.

President Trump has launched a comprehensive effort to transform the nation’s cultural and historical institutions, targeting what he describes as “anti-American ideology” at museums, national parks, and monuments across the country.

Through executive orders and administrative actions, his administration has dismantled exhibits about slavery, brought back Confederate monuments, and implemented other changes that civil rights organizations warn could undo decades of progress in acknowledging America’s complex history.

In March 2025, just weeks into his presidency, Trump issued an executive order specifically aimed at what he characterized as the proliferation of “anti-American ideology” within the Smithsonian Institution. The directive called for eliminating such content from the renowned museum and research network, which serves as a cornerstone for displaying American history and culture.

The same order instructed the Interior Department to restore federal parks, monuments and memorials that had been “removed or changed in the last years to perpetuate a false revision of history.”

Trump’s positions on race and history became clear in previous statements. Last August, he criticized on social media what he termed an overemphasis on “how bad slavery was.” During a January interview with the New York Times, when questioned about policies stemming from the Civil Rights Act of 1964, he claimed civil rights protections disadvantaged white Americans.

The NAACP, America’s oldest and largest civil rights organization, condemned Trump’s statements as preparation for rolling back social advancement. Black Lives Matter, the racial justice movement, argued his comments revealed an intent to minimize slavery’s horrors.

In response to Trump’s March 2025 directive, the Interior Department announced a comprehensive examination of interpretive materials at all national parks. These informational plaques and displays that explain historical sites and events are now subject to administrative review as the Trump team works to reshape public spaces and cultural institutions.

National Park Service personnel subsequently removed a slavery exhibit on January 22 from a Philadelphia historical location where George Washington previously resided. The display had included information about Washington’s ownership of enslaved individuals. By mid-February, a federal judge in Pennsylvania mandated that the National Park Service restore the slavery exhibit, which the agency did.

According to The Washington Post, federal officials have also directed national parks to eliminate numerous signs and displays addressing slavery and the historical mistreatment of Native Americans by European settlers.

Civil rights advocates argue these actions diminish recognition of crucial periods in American history. “Stripping enslaved people’s stories from museum exhibits, monuments, and digital archives is not neutrality — it is erasure,” the NAACP stated.

The National Park Service announced last August its intention to restore a statue of Confederate General Albert Pike that protesters had toppled and damaged in 2020 during demonstrations following George Floyd’s death.

On March 18, the Trump administration revealed plans to display in Washington a statue of Caesar Rodney, who signed the Declaration of Independence but also owned enslaved people. This statue had been removed from Delaware in 2020 during racial justice demonstrations.

Trump announced on March 22 that the White House had installed a statue of Italian explorer Christopher Columbus on its grounds. This statue reconstructed one that protesters had thrown into Baltimore’s harbor in 2020, challenging heroic depictions of Columbus that they argued minimized or ignored his brutal treatment of indigenous Americans.

Trump severely criticized the Smithsonian through social media last year, threatening it would face the same scrutiny as colleges and universities whose funding was jeopardized for policies that angered his administration.

The 180-year-old Smithsonian, encompassing 21 museums, galleries and the National Zoo, receives most funding from Congress but maintains independence in its operations and decisions.

The White House initiated an internal examination of several Smithsonian museums last year, stating it would evaluate the tone and historical perspective of exhibition materials, websites, educational resources and digital content. The Smithsonian responded that it would participate “constructively.”

Trump appointed himself as Kennedy Center chairman and populated its board with supporters last year. In December, the board voted to rename the institution the Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts. Trump had previously denounced the center as excessively liberal.

Numerous organizations and performers have since distanced themselves from the center, citing the Republican leader’s control. Democrats have pointed out that Congress established the center’s name, arguing Trump’s rebranding lacks legal authority. The Kennedy family condemned the renaming as damaging to the assassinated president’s memory.

On February 1, Trump announced plans to shut down the center for two years beginning in July for renovations.

Last April, the Trump administration declared the Environmental Protection Agency would eliminate a small museum at its headquarters documenting the agency’s history, citing budget reductions.

In May, Trump criticized Kim Sajet, who directed the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, labeling her as biased. She announced her resignation the following month. Late last year, the White House dismissed several National Council on the Humanities members.

On the international stage, Trump has pulled the United States from dozens of global and United Nations organizations, including cultural and refugee agencies, claiming they provide no benefit to America.