Museum removes plaque for Trump portrait which mentioned two impeachments
A prominent museum in Washington, DC, has removed a plaque detailing the less glamorous parts of Donald Trump’s first term as President.
The National Portrait Gallery, operated by the Smithsonian, has removed details about Trump’s two impeachments and the January 6 insurrection.
The original plaque read: ‘Impeached twice, on charges of abuse of power and incitement of insurrection after supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, he was acquitted by the Senate in both trials.’
Other plaques of Presidents in the portrait gallery mention past impeachments – such as Bill Clinton’s – and other scandals.
But only Trump’s has been changed – though it’s unclear if his administration was the one to ask for it to be removed.
A spokesperson for the NPG said the museum made the change in a bid to explore ‘less descriptive tombstone labels’.
But it’s not the first time Trump has tried to change exhibits at museums – earlier this year, Trump said the Smithsonian gives America a ‘negative reputation’.
The museum was the latest target of Trump’s ‘clean-up’ of Washington DC. He claimed it focuses too much on ‘how bad slavery was’, and spreads ‘anti-American ideology’.
The White House said current and former exhibitions at the museum will undergo a review to make sure they align with Trump’s agenda and ‘view of history.’
Historian and propaganda academic Ian Garner previously told Metro: ‘What Trump is doing looks like a pretty naked attempt at sanitising history in order to maximise his own power.’
If Trump’s attempt to change how the Smithsonian tells the story of America is successful, he could go beyond skewing understanding of the past and present – but also the direction of the future, Garner warned.
In September, a famous photo of Peter Gordon’s scarred back, known as ‘The Scourged Back’, taken in 1863, was removed from the National Portrait Gallery.
Multiple individuals involved with national parks told The Washington Post on the condition of anonymity that the removal is because of Trump’s belief that such photos and exhibits ‘disparage’ history.
At Harpers Ferry National Park in West Virginia, where an abolitionist led a raid to arm slaves for revolt, information about that revolt will be also removed.
Other targeted exhibits in Trump’s dystopian crackdown include those on racism, sexism, slavery, gay rights and Indigenous history in the United States.
The administration has also asked employees and visitors to report any potential ‘offending’ information.
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