TRUMP ORDERS WARNING SIGNS AT SMITHSONIAN MUSEUM OF AMERICAN HISTORY

President Donald Trump issued an executive order on Friday directing the Department of Interior to place signs outside the Smithsonian National Museum of American History cautioning visitors about exhibits the administration views as presenting inaccurate information. The order, titled Restoring Trust in the Smithsonian Institution, instructs that signs be posted on pavements and walkways used by the public to access the museum. The signs will warn visitors they are about to encounter "inaccurate information" and direct them to "locations and resources for accurate information regarding America's history."

The Trump administration's statement accompanying the order accused museum leadership of viewing American history as a "prime tool" to advance ideas of social justice and the radical transformation of society. A separate White House statement claimed the museum had veered "toward extreme political activism, rooted in Marxism, to divide, dispirit, and discourage Americans." The order came days after Republican lawmakers grilled Smithsonian director Anthea Hartig in congressional hearings, where she faced accusations that the museum was "infected by a woke ideology." The timing coincided with the country's 250th anniversary of independence on 4 July, which the White House said the museum's leadership had failed adequately to celebrate.

Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch told NBC News the White House report was "not a fair characterisation of the work and totality of the National Museum of American History," stating the institution's work is "driven by scholarship, accuracy and an uncompromising commitment to tell the fullness of America's story." Democratic congresswoman Melanie Stansbury, ranking member of the House Administration Committee, called the order "a clear political overreach, driven by an ideological agenda to rewrite American history," and stated that Smithsonian institutions belong to the American people, not the President. The BBC reported the Smithsonian did not immediately respond to requests for comment.