The American Alliance of Museums (AAM) has issued a statement condemning the US government’s ongoing attacks on the Smithsonian Institution.
The Smithsonian Institution, the largest museum organisation in the world with 17 museums and nearly 15m annual visits, has been accused by US president Donald Trump and his administration of being biased and anti-American.
Shortly after coming to power in 2025, Trump issued an executive order called Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History, which the White House said was aimed at “revitalising key cultural institutions and reversing the spread of divisive ideology”. The order singled out the Smithsonian for particular criticism.
Trump’s latest action has been to call for signs to be placed outside the Smithsonian National Museum of American History to caution visitors about exhibits his administration views as "inaccurate". The order directed the Department of Interior to issue the warnings, and also to tell people about where they can find "accurate information regarding America's history".
The directive follows the publication of report commissioned by the White House called Saving America’s Story: How Ideological Capture at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History Erases Our Heritage.
A statement from the AAM, a membership body like the Museums Association in the UK, said: “As our nation’s flagship museum system and an AAM-accredited institution, the Smithsonian reflects the highest standards of scholarship, stewardship, and public service.
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“Efforts to politicise how museums present history, art, science, culture, and the natural world – and personal attacks on the museum professionals who carry out that work – threaten the integrity and independence of museums across the country.”
The statement accompanying Trump’s Restoring Truth in the Smithsonian executive order, said the museum leadership had directed the organisation’s “mission away from historical education and scholarship of a shared national inheritance to be celebrated, and toward extreme political activism, rooted in Marxism, to divide, dispirit, and discourage Americans”.
In response, the AAM said: “The American public overwhelmingly supports museums as trusted, nonpartisan institutions. AAM’s national research has found 92% of US adults think museums are non-partisan providers of educational content; the majority of Americans oppose censorship in museums; and majorities across the political spectrum want museums to present full and inclusive content. Americans want access to evidence, scholarship, and authentic artifacts so they can consider the complexities of our shared past and decide for themselves what those histories mean.”
In its statement, the AAM said the president’s actions had wider implications for the while US museum sector: “The questions raised by the recent White House report and subsequent congressional actions extend well beyond any single museum. If scholarship at our nation’s leading museum system can become subject to political influence, no museum is beyond reach. The precedent would jeopardize the independence of 22,000 museums of every size and discipline across the country.”
The Smithsonian is led by Lonnie Bunch, who became the 14th secretary of the institution in 2019. Bunch, the founding director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, is the first African American to lead the Smithsonian.
The Trump adminisration's attacks on the Smithsonian come in a year when the US is marking its 250th anniversary.
Announcing the Smithsonian’s plans for the anniversary earlier this year, Bunch said: “America’s 250th reminds us that the story of the United States is not only about the past we inherit but also the ideals we continue to pursue. With Our Shared Future: 250, the Smithsonian is engaging communities across the country to explore the history that connects us and the future we share. This is a moment to celebrate, to reflect and to renew our commitment to the enduring promise of America.”
