Smithsonian removes label mentioning Trump
WASHINGTON (AP) — An exhibit of photographic portraits of President Donald Trump at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery has had references to his two impeachments removed, the latest apparent change to the museum collection he has accused of bias as he asserts influence over how official presentations document American history.
The wall text, which summarized Trump’s first presidency and highlighted his comeback victory in 2024, was part of the museum’s “American Presidents” exhibit. The description was placed next to a photograph of Trump taken during his first term. A different photo now appears without any accompanying text block, even though the text was available online. Trump was the only president whose gallery display, as seen Sunday, did not include any extended text.
The White House did not say whether it sought any changes. Neither did a statement from the Smithsonian in response to questions from the News. But Trump in August ordered Smithsonian officials to review all exhibits before the nation celebrated the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence on July 4. The Republican administration said the effort would “ensure alignment with the president’s directive to celebrate American exceptionalism, eliminate divisive or partisan narratives, and restore trust in our shared cultural institutions.”
Trump’s original “portrait tag,” as the Smithsonian calls it, notes Trump’s Supreme Court nominations and his administration’s development of COVID-19 vaccines. That section concludes: “Twice indicted, accused of abuse of power and incitement of insurrection after his supporters attacked the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, he was acquitted by the Senate in both trials.”
Then the text continues: “After losing to Joe Biden in 2020, Trump achieved a historic comeback in the 2024 elections. He is the only president, apart from Grover Cleveland (1837-1908), to have won a second non-consecutive term.”
When asked about the display, White House spokesman Davis Ingle hailed the new photo, which shows a frowning Trump hunched over his Oval Office desk. Ingle said this ensures that Trump’s “incomparable aura… will be felt throughout the halls of the National Portrait Gallery.”
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The portrait was taken by White House photographer Daniel Torok, who is credited with the exhibit that includes medallions indicating Trump is the 45th and 47th president. Similar numerical medallions appear alongside painted portraits of other presidents that also include longer biographical summaries, like those that had been part of Trump’s exhibit.
Sitting presidents are represented by photographs until their official paintings are commissioned and completed.
Ingle did not answer questions about whether Trump or a White House aide, on his behalf, requested anything related to the portrait label.
The gallery said in a statement that it had previously rotated two photographs of Trump from its collection before exhibiting Torok’s work.
“The museum is beginning the planned upgrade of America’s Presidents Gallery, which will undergo a major upgrade this spring,” the gallery’s statement said. “For some new exhibits and exhibits, the museum has been exploring citations or tombstone labels, which only provide general information, such as the artist’s name.”
For now, references to the impeachments of Presidents Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton in 1868 and 1998, respectively, remain part of their portrait tags, as does the resignation of President Richard Nixon in 1974 as a result of the Watergate scandal.
And, the gallery statement noted, “The history of presidential impeachments continues to be represented in our museums, including the National Museum of American History.”
Trump has made clear his intentions to shape how the federal government documents American history and culture. He has offered an especially harsh assessment of how the Smithsonian and other museums have presented slavery as a fundamental variable in the nation’s development, but he has also taken steps to reshape the way he and his contemporary rivals are represented.
In the months before his order to review the Smithsonian, he fired the chief archivist at the National Archives and said he was firing the director of the National Portrait Gallery, Kim Sajet, as part of his overhaul. Sajet maintained the support of the Smithsonian board of directors, but ultimately resigned.
In the White House, Trump has designed a remarkably partisan and subjective “Presidential Walk of Fame” that features gold photographs of him and his predecessors (with the exception of Biden, who is represented by an automatic pen) along with plaques describing their presidencies.
The White House said at the time that Trump himself was the primary author of the plaques. Notably, Trump’s two plaques praise the 45th and 47th presidents as historically successful figures, while those under Biden’s surrogate describe the 46th executive as “by far the worst president in American history” who “brought our nation to the brink of destruction.”
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Barrow reported from Atlanta.