If you haven’t heard, Donald Trump recently signed an executive order called “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History” that promised to review Smithsonian exhibits that the Trump White House found problematic.
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Well, CNN anchor Jake Tapper recently visited the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC to get a firsthand look at the five exhibits that the Trump White House has reportedly flagged, and the video is going viral.
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In the democracy exhibit, protest signs for a range of different causes are displayed, including LGBTQ+ equality, pro-life, and anti-war. “The White House says this part of the democracy exhibit is about demonstrations, and they say it’s only ‘leftist’ causes…. Their complaint about this is not accurate,” Tapper said in the video.
@cnn / Via tiktok.com
The “Keeping the Vote” exhibit detailed the history of voting officials intentionally making things more difficult for Black voters and other newly enfranchised groups to vote.
@cnn / Via tiktok.com
The exhibit plaque read: “Others changed voter registration requirements and Election Day rules in attempts to minimize the political power of newly enfranchised groups.” “By stating that as a fact and not an analysis or interpretation, the Trump White House is saying this is a leftist narrative,” Tapper explained.
In the “Hall of the American People” stands a replica of the Statue of Liberty that features an agricultural worker holding produce instead of a book and a torch.
@cnn / Via tiktok.com
“The issue that the Trump people have with this exhibit, we’re not exactly sure… This is from a Seminole or Immokalee tribe protest for higher wages 25 years ago… This is one of the exhibits they have a problem with.”
The “Electric Doctor Franklin” exhibit highlights the historical inventions of Benjamin Franklin, but it frequently mentions Franklin’s ownership of enslaved people, whose labor allowed him the freedom to conduct research and create.
@cnn / Via tiktok.com
“That’s the White House issue, that there’s too much about the slaves and not enough about Benjamin Franklin,” Tapper explained.
The Title IX and women’s athletes exhibit features a trans nonbinary athlete. “The issue that the White House takes has to do with Leo Baker, the skateboarder identified here as trans nonbinary.”
@cnn / Via tiktok.com
In addition to Baker’s photo, there is an image in the exhibit that reads “Trans rights are human rights.”
“Stand firm, Smithsonian. You are the protectors of History. You protect and represent ALL OF US,” one person wrote.
“History has bad stuff in it. if you try to remove or censor it, people are doomed to repeat it,” another person wrote.
“It’s giving fascism,” another person wrote.
“it’s HISTORY…it’s not supposed to be a highlight reel,” this person agreed.
We’ve reached out to the White House for comment.Â
What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.
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