Trump targets ‘improper ideology’ at the Smithsonian in latest effort to reshape the arts and history

President Donald Trump is extending his efforts to influence American cultural and artistic institutions to the Smithsonian Institution – a sprawling organization that encompasses the National Zoo and a collection of museums that anchor tourism in the nation’s capital.

President Donald Trump is extending his efforts to influence American cultural and artistic institutions to the Smithsonian Institution – a sprawling organization that encompasses the National Zoo and a collection of museums that anchor tourism in the nation’s capital. In an executive order signed Thursday night, Trump put Vice President JD Vance in charge of stopping government spending on “exhibits or programs that degrade shared American values, divide Americans based on race, or promote programs or ideologies inconsistent with Federal law and policy.” Vance serves on the Smithsonian’s Board of Regents. “Once widely respected as a symbol of American excellence and a global icon of cultural achievement, the Smithsonian Institution has, in recent years, come under the influence of a divisive, race-centered ideology,” the order reads. “This shift has promoted narratives that portray American and Western values as inherently harmful and oppressive.” The Smithsonian Institution is the world’s largest museum complex, including 21 museums and the National Zoo. Nearly 17 million people visited Smithsonian properties last year, according to the museum’s website. Admission at nearly all the museums is free. CNN has reached out to the Smithsonian Institution for comment. The order appears crafted in part to direct the museums to soften or distort forthright discussions about the history and impact of racism in the United States and follows similar orders that seek to exert the president’s will over law firms and educational institutions.