US President Donald Trump‘s tryst with trouble does not seem to take a pause. With his recent attack on Fed Chief Powell, he also launched a pressure movement on the Smithsonian Institution. He urged the long-standing symbol for US history and culture to give in to his demands via a social media post. However, his overt tantrum about slavery sparked an uproar on the internet.
Trump’s Truth Social post complained about the repeated focus on “how bad slavery was.” He also revealed that he had instructed his legal team to go through the Museums and “start the exact same process that has been done with Colleges and Universities where tremendous progress has been made,” in his post.
This comes after his last week’s comments on the need for an internal review of some museums under the Smithsonian Institution, which were accused of proliferating “anti-American” ideologies. Referring to his spat with Harvard and how it ended in a $500 billion deal for the Trump administration, he threatened funding cuts. In his post, he added, “President Trump will explore all options and avenues to get the Woke out of the Smithsonian and hold them accountable.”
‘This country cannot be woke’
In his post, Trump also mentioned, “This country cannot be woke, because work is broke.” Claiming that the Smithsonian “was out of control,” Trump pointed out their alleged fixation on “how horrible our Country is, how bad Slavery was, and how unaccomplished the downtrodden have been.” He noted that the success and brightness were ignored with a past-focused tone – in museums.
In an attempt to “remove improper ideology,” officials, including senior staff secretary Lindsey Halligan, Domestic Policy Council Director Vince Haley, and Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought, are acting under his demands.
‘So he wants to discuss how good slavery was?’
Sparking an uproar on social media, several netizens and opposition leaders took to X (formerly Twitter) and shared their thoughts on Trump’s post against the Smithsonian.
Former Republican Rep. Joe Walsh questioned in his post, “So now he wants to force them to discuss how ‘good’ slavery was?”
Rep Yvette Clarke wrote on BlueSky, “History is woke! Facts are woke! Museums are woke! Democracy is woke! Truth is woke! Ignorance? Not woke!”
Calling Trump’s claims “categorically false,” factchecker Daniel Dale shared that the ignorance of the “success, brightness, and future” would be busted in just one visit to the Smithsonian museums.
Responding to these threats and claims, the Organisation of American Historians expressed “deep concern and dismay”, following the White House’s sudden probe into the Smithsonian museums.
On the other hand, Scott Jennings, a conservative political strategist, defended Trump’s downplay of slavery. He claimed that those opposing his stance were the left, who incited the mass removal of statues tied to slavery. In light of Trump’s sudden crackdown on Ivy League institutions, Trump also took over the management of the John F Kennedy Centre of Performing Arts and intervened in programs and honorees. There are speculations to rename the centre’s opera house after First Lady Melania Trump as well.