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President Donald Trump signed an executive order in the White House on Thursday to restore truth in America’s institutions, including the removal of radical ideologies from the Smithsonian Institute.
The “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History” order addressed the need to stop the revision of the nation’s past as some institutions have experienced in recent years.
“Over the past decade, Americans have witnessed a concerted and widespread effort to rewrite our Nation’s history, replacing objective facts with a distorted narrative driven by ideology rather than truth,” the order noted.
“This revisionist movement seeks to undermine the remarkable achievements of the United States by casting its founding principles and historical milestones in a negative light. Under this historical revision, our Nation’s unparalleled legacy of advancing liberty, individual rights, and human happiness is reconstructed as inherently racist, sexist, oppressive, or otherwise irredeemably flawed,” it continued.
“Rather than fostering unity and a deeper understanding of our shared past, the widespread effort to rewrite history deepens societal divides and fosters a sense of national shame, disregarding the progress America has made and the ideals that continue to inspire millions around the globe,” the order stated.
The order specifically noted concerns at the National Museum of African American History and Culture and Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum. The women’s museum’s forthcoming exhibit was set to celebrate transgender athletes in women’s sports.
Trump order directs the Vice President and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to “prohibit expenditure on exhibits or programs that degrade shared American values, divide Americans based on race, or promote programs or ideologies inconsistent with Federal law and policy; and celebrate the achievements of women in the American Women’s History Museum and do not recognize men as women in any respect in the Museum.”
Section three of the new order calls for restoring Independence Hall. Trump called for funding “improve the infrastructure of Independence National Historical Park, which shall be complete by July 4, 2026, the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.”
The order also calls on the Secretary of the Interior to review monuments and statues since Jan. 1, 2020, to ensure to protect American history.