Trump Asks Smithsonian to Install George Washington Statues and Exhibit
Trump wants a five-year Washington exhibit and new statues as the White House presses the Smithsonian to highlight national heroes over slavery and oppression.
- On Friday, President Donald Trump demanded the Smithsonian Institution install an 11-foot statue of George Washington in the Flag Hall by Constitution Day, September 17, 2026, followed by a 30-foot "Washington Colossus."
- Trump's administration has accused the Smithsonian of emphasizing slavery and oppression at the expense of national achievements, prompting his push for a five-year exhibition honoring Washington through his 300th birthday in 2032.
- Trump argued Washington "is easily America's GREATEST HERO," saying the abstract "Infinity" sculpture "says nothing about America" and should be replaced with the proposed monument honoring the nation's first president.
- Smithsonian chief Lonnie Bunch announced this week he is stepping down at year's end after nearly 50 years, following months of tension between the institution and the Trump administration over exhibitions.
- The Smithsonian operates independently under a Board of Regents, though it remains unclear whether Trump can directly order the museum to make the changes he has demanded.
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86 Articles
(Washington = Yonhap News) Correspondent Hong Jeong-gyu = U.S. President Donald Trump [at the] entrance of the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C., [emblazoned] George Washington, the first president known as the Father of the Nation...
Trump criticizes Smithsonian's focus on oppression
President Donald Trump criticized what he called the Smithsonian's overwhelming focus on oppression on Friday and called for a five-year exhibition on George Washington, in his latest critique of an institution he has repeatedly attacked.
Trump Calls For 30-Foot “Colossus” Statue Of George Washington Outside Smithsonian US History Museum
The Washington Post reports: President Donald Trump called Friday for the Smithsonian Institution to honor George Washington with a 30-foot statue outside the National Museum of American History, replacing the modernist “Infinity” sculpture which has been there since 1967. Trump said on social media that the Smithsonian should first install in the museum’s Flag Hall the 11-foot statue of George Washington that was recently featured at the Freedo…
Trump calls for new ’30-foot’ Smithsonian statue to replace ‘strange modernist’ Infinity sculpture
President Donald Trump set his sights on “History worth teaching” as an exit at the Smithsonian paved the way for an exhibit and “colossus” honoring a Founding […]
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