The Tamesis
2025 is an extraordinary year for the Smithsonian Institution, which found itself early and often in the crosshairs of the second Trump administration. Early last year, Trump called for “anti-American ideology” to be purged from the institution’s 19 museums. 2026 appears to be bringing more of the same.
Thursday, new york times The Trump administration has redoubled its efforts to bring the Smithsonian to heel, setting a deadline of next Tuesday for it to comply with a comprehensive review of its content and plans, reports say. The aim is to align it with Trump’s executive order “Restore Truth and Sanity to American History” issued last March.
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While the Smithsonian’s recent strategy, at least on the surface, seems to be one of delay, guardianAlso on Thursday, The New York Times chief culture writer Charlotte Higgins reported that many bureaucrats within the Smithsonian had “tacitly acquiesced” — in other words, to self-censorship.
A Smithsonian staffer described to Higgins how a proposed label for an exhibit about the internment of Japanese Americans originally described the period as an “injustice.” The Smithsonian requested that the word “injustice” be removed because of concerns it might appear partisan, according to the staffer.
“The United States almost never apologizes for anything and almost never gives reparations, except for this incident, which is an example in our history where we’ve apologized and the apology has come with money,” the staffer told Higgins. The staffer added that these small changes add up: “Changing the language around this, not mentioning it — it’s a small matter of moral injury.”
In 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed the Civil Liberties Act, which formally apologized for the internment of Japanese Americans and provided $20,000 in compensation to each surviving victim. The law was passed after a decade of work by Japanese-American activists.
The Smithsonian did not respond to a request for comment by press time.
