Smithsonian and Kennedy Center Blues Updates
pictures of the smithsonian institute – Search Images
Smithsonian and Kennedy Center Blues Updates
pictures of the smithsonian institute – Search Images
Culture Wars, Cultural Institutions, and the Politics of Memory
An update to earlier essays on the Smithsonian controversy, the Kennedy Center takeover, and the broader fight over who gets to tell America’s story.
Smithsonian Blues in the Age of Trumpism
President of the Smithsonian?
Update: Smithsonian Blues in the Age of Trumpism
📰 Smithsonian Controversy Summary
🔥 Key Issues
- Executive Order (March 2025): President Trump signed “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History”, targeting “divisive, race-centered ideology” in Smithsonian exhibits.
- Targeted Museums: African American History Museum, American Indian Museum, and Women’s History Museum.
- Impeachment Exhibit: Smithsonian removed a placard referencing Trump’s two impeachments, sparking backlash. It later promised to restore it.
🗣️ President Trump’s Statements
- Called for removal of “anti-American ideology.”
- Directed VP JD Vance to oversee Smithsonian reforms.
- Claimed museums should “ignite imagination” and “instill pride in American greatness.”
In the summer of 2025, America’s cultural institutions are no longer neutral ground. They’ve become battlegrounds—where history, art, and identity are being reshaped by executive decree. The Kennedy Center and Smithsonian Institution, once bastions of bipartisan reverence, now reflect a new ideological order. But this isn’t just an American story. From Russia to Hungary, governments are asserting control over museums, universities, and theaters—redefining what culture means, and who gets to tell the story.
For readers who have followed these stories, the situation has evolved significantly over the past several months.
The Smithsonian and the Kennedy Center have become two of the most visible fronts in a larger political and cultural struggle. The debate is not merely about museum exhibits, orchestras, drag shows, DEI, race, or patriotism. It is ultimately about institutional independence, public funding, historical memory, and government influence over cultural organizations.
The Smithsonian: From Executive Order to Institutional Showdown
The conflict began in earnest with President Trump’s March 2025 executive order,“Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History.” The White House argued that federal museums, historic sites, and parks had adopted a divisive interpretation of American history emphasizing race, oppression, and social injustice at the expense of national achievement and unity. [whitehouse.gov], [federalregister.gov]
The administration specifically criticized exhibits at:
- the Smithsonian American Art Museum,
- the National Museum of African American History and Culture,
- the planned Women’s History Museum,
- and various National Park Service locations. [whitehouse.gov]
The executive order directed Vice President Vance, in his role as a Smithsonian Regent, to pursue the removal of what the White House called “improper ideology” from Smithsonian museums and programs. [whitehouse.gov], [congress.gov]
Supporters viewed the move as a correction.
Critics viewed it as political interference.
Escalation
The dispute intensified with a White House report released on July 4, 2026.
The report accused the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History of engaging in what it called “ideological capture” and “extreme political activism.” [whitehouse.gov], [abcnews.com]
That report led directly to a second executive order,“Restoring Trust in the Smithsonian Institution.” [whitehouse.gov], [federalregister.gov]
Perhaps the most unusual provision required the National Park Service to place signs outside the National Museum of American History warning visitors that some exhibits allegedly contain inaccurate or ideologically distorted interpretations of history. [whitehouse.gov], [abcnews.com], [apnews.com]
Because the President lacks direct authority to rewrite Smithsonian exhibits, the administration used federal land around the museum, controlled by the National Park Service, as leverage. [apnews.com], [political]
The New Development
The biggest recent escalation came at the end of August.
In a letter sent by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and White House Domestic Policy adviser Vince Haley, administration officials warned that executive agencies could reconsider cooperation with the Smithsonian unless the institution addresses concerns about ideological bias. [abcnews.com], [foxnews.com], [yahoo.com]
The letter suggested that federal agencies could reconsider:
- artifact loans,
- grants,
- procurement assistance,
- and other forms of cooperation. [abcnews.com], [aol.com]
This does not mean the Smithsonian is closing.
It does mean that pressure is increasing.
What Is Actually At Risk?
Some online discussions have imagined closures of the African American Museum, National Museum of the American Indian, or other Smithsonian units.
I found no evidence that the administration has formally proposed closing these museums, auctioning their collections, or eliminating them from the Smithsonian system. The current dispute concerns leadership, exhibit interpretation, funding, and governance, not institutional closure. [whitehouse.gov], [whitehouse.gov], [abcnews.com]
The real question is not whether the Smithsonian will survive.
It almost certainly will.
The question is whether future exhibits will be shaped more heavily by political pressure from Congress and the White House.
Meanwhile, at the Kennedy Center
The Kennedy Center story has moved from controversy into outright institutional transformation.
Unlike the Smithsonian, where presidential authority is limited, the Kennedy Center has experienced direct leadership intervention.
What began as a board takeover has evolved into plans for a major reconstruction project and a substantial reshaping of programming, management, and mission. [Axios. COm], [theviolinchannel.com]
The Two-Year Renovation
The most important recent development is the approval of plans that could effectively close much of the Kennedy Center for approximately two years while renovations take place. [axios.com], [broadwayworld.com], [theviolinchannel.com]
The administration argues that the building requires major modernization and that the project will restore the center as a premier cultural institution. [theviolinchannel.com]
Critics argue that it comes after a period of political conflict that already drove away artists, patrons, and donors.
Where Will the National Symphony Play?
One of the largest unanswered questions involved the National Symphony Orchestra.
That question now has an answer.
The NSO announced that it will spend the 2026-27 season performing around the region rather than at the Kennedy Center. [alxnow.com], [abc10.com]
Venues include:
- Lisner Auditorium,
- Strathmore,
- George Mason University,
- Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall,
- the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center,
- and D.C.’s Lincoln Theatre. [alxnow.com], [abc10.com], [nbcwashington.com]
Music Director Gianandrea Noseda described the orchestra as becoming a kind of regional touring ensemble during the renovation period. [abc10.com], [nbcwashington.com]
Ticket Sales and Audience Flight
One of the most debated aspects of the Kennedy Center controversy involves attendance.
Multiple reports describe major declines in ticket sales after the leadership changes. Reports cited by the Washington Post and AP indicate National Symphony ticket sales declined from roughly 72% capacity in 2024 to 58% in 2025 and approximately 41% in the most recent season. [alxnow.com], [nbcwashington.com], [operawire.com]
Several reports also describe artist withdrawals, program cancellations, and patron resistance connected to the political controversy. [artthreat.net], [yahoo.com]
Supporters argue the institution is undergoing a necessary reset.
Critics argue the decline is evidence that audiences and artists are voting with their feet.
Structural Analysis
Layer One: Two Different Institutions
The Smithsonian and Kennedy Center are often discussed together.
But they are very different institutions.
The Smithsonian is fundamentally:
- a museum system,
- a research enterprise,
- an archive of national memory.
The Kennedy Center is fundamental:
- a performing arts venue,
- a presenter,
- a producer,
- an arts marketplace.
The Smithsonian fight is about history.
The Kennedy Center fight is about culture.
Layer Two: The Same Underlying Question
Both controversies revolve around the same question:
Can government-funded cultural institutions remain politically independent?
Supporters of intervention argue:
- taxpayers deserve accountability;
- ideological bias should be corrected;
- federally funded institutions should reflect broadly shared values.
Critics argue:
- political leaders should not dictate scholarship or artistic programming;
- museums and arts institutions require professional autonomy;
- political oversight inevitably becomes censorship.
Layer Three: The 250th Anniversary Lens
The administration’s actions make more sense when viewed through the lens of America’s 250th anniversary.
The White House is attempting to shape the national story presented during the semiquincentennial period. [whitehouse.gov], [whitehouse.gov]
This is not merely about exhibits.
It is about defining national identity.
Left, Center, Right, and International Coverage
Left
Progressive publications generally describe the Smithsonian and Kennedy Center actions as authoritarian cultural intervention, censorship, or historical revisionism.
Center
Reuters, AP, ABC, PBS, Politico, and mainstream institutional reporting have focused primarily on governance questions, legal authority, funding, attendance trends, leadership changes, and public reaction. [apnews.com], [abcnews.com], [nbcwashington.com]
Right
Conservative outlets generally describe the initiatives as efforts to reverse ideological bias, restore patriotism, and make public institutions accountable to taxpayers. [foxnews.com], [whitehouse.gov]
International
Foreign coverage frequently compares these developments to broader global debates over political control of culture, museums, universities, media institutions, and national history.
So What Is This Really About?
The administration says the issue is:
truth, patriotism, and balance.
Opponents say the issue is:
control, censorship, and ideology.
Both sides agree on one point.
Who controls the story controls more than museums.
They influence how future generations understand America itself.
And that is why the Smithsonian and Kennedy Center have become two of the most important cultural battlegrounds in the country.
End Notes
Executive Orders
Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History
White House Executive Order [whitehouse.gov]
Restoring Trust in the Smithsonian Institution
White House Executive Order [whitehouse.gov]
Smithsonian Reporting
ABC News: Federal support warning letter
ABC News coverage [abcnews.com]
Associated Press: Smithsonian signage dispute
AP coverage [apnews.com]
Kennedy Center Reporting
Axios: Renovation scenarios
Axios report [axios.com]
National Symphony relocation details
ALXNow report [alxnow.com]
Associated Press/NBC Washington coverage
NBC Washington report [nbcwashington.com]
National Symphony season announcement analysis
Symphony Magazine coverage [symphony.org]
One editorial note: for publication, I’d avoid asserting that museums are being closed or that collections are being auctioned off. Those claims make powerful satire, but they are not supported by the current record. The stronger argument is that critics fear a trajectory toward political influence over curation, not that such closures have actually been ordered.
Addendum: controversial exhibit back
The Smithsonian’s most contested exhibition is back on view, mostly intact
National Portrait Gallery curators have found a way to counter the Trump administration: with facts.
May 15, 2026
America’s Presidents” at the National Portrait Gallery is reopening after a month-long refresh. (Valerie Plesch/For The Washington Post)
Since Donald Trump returned to office in January 2025, the Smithsonian has been the administration’s favored target for its new museum-focused culture war against diversity and inclusion, and narratives of U.S. history that include the ugly truth of slavery, Native American genocide, and the ongoing struggle for the rights of women, Latinos, Asian Americans, immigrants, LGBT communities and others.
And the Smithsonian, no stranger to political pressure, has managed to push back and mostly hold its ground — with a few key losses.
By June of last year, Trump had forced out the head of the National Portrait Gallery, Kim Sajet, who was a vigorous supporter of inclusion in the national narrative. And earlier this year, the administration celebrated the hanging of a new portrait of Trump, which came with another change: The brief wall text summarizing Trump’s first term was removed and, along with it, mention of his two impeachments and the insurrection he fomented on Jan. 6, 2021. The old label was replaced with a so-called tombstone label, which gave only the name and basic facts about the image.
No single exhibition in Washington may be more scrutinized than the Portrait Gallery’s “America’s Presidents,” and among its critics, apparently, was Trump, whose administration took issue with the wall texts that mentioned his impeachments among other low points of his first presidency. The beloved exhibition, which includes the iconic Gilbert Stuart “Lansdowne” portrait of George Washington, reopens today after a month-long closure to refresh and rethink key elements of the display. The good news: The basic facts about Trump, along with all the other presidents, are still on offer; wall texts haven’t been removed, though some of them have been edited; and the exhibition continues to present an accurate, pithy overview of American history, warts and all.
And curators have found an elegant way to defuse political controversy around the most recent presidents. Trump’s tombstone label is gone, replaced with longer texts, one quoting from his Jan. 19, 2021, farewell address, and another that gives a basic résumé of his life, including his education, prior experience, inauguration dates, major legislative accomplishments and notable events.
The same format, including extracts from farewell addresses, is now used for all the presidents since Jimmy Carter.
Among the notable events listed on Trump’s CV are ones that went missing earlier this year. The first and second impeachments, the insurrection, and the George Floyd protests of 2020 are included along with the Abraham Accords and the “Operation Warp Speed” initiative that developed lifesaving covid vaccines.
The facts are back, but there is a substantial change to the tone. For all the presidents up to Carter, the Smithsonian uses an omniscient, authoritative voice, which it abandons for the more recent ones.
“The presidency of James K. Polk reflected his belief in Manifest Destiny,” begins one summary; Andrew Jackson “campaigned for president as a self-made man,” reads another.
Museum historian Mindy Farmer, who oversaw the refresh, says the move to just-the-facts bullet points for later presidents is a virtue, given that historians haven’t yet fully processed our most recent executives.
“We want to wait for a scholarly consensus,” she says. Farmer also said that she has had no contact with or pressure from the White House.
If this is a game of chess, it’s not quite checkmate for the administration, which is pursuing a comprehensive content review of the Smithsonian and would still like to make the entire museum and research complex comply with its nativist historical agenda, which celebrates American exceptionalism. But the Portrait Gallery has for now checked the king, and the administration will be in the awkward position of disputing basic facts rather than the interpretation of them.
Of course, the choice of which facts to highlight is a form of interpretation, and in other places, the new résumé-style wall labels may anger people from the other side of the political spectrum.
The major legislation list for Bill Clinton, for example, includes the 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act and the 1996 Megan’s Law, but not the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which ensured that LGBT people would have no hope of legal marriage until the Supreme Court defined same-sex marriage as a fundamental right in 2015.
Close observers of the wall texts may find what might be called the fallacy of nuanced tweaks, a phenomenon that haunts journalism as well. Throughout the display, there are changes to the wording and emphasis of wall texts that suggest curators may have been trying to defuse potential controversies by making small but significant changes. The folly of this, of course, is that critics of the Smithsonian, especially those in Trump’s camp, won’t be appeased by little shifts in emphasis. They want to own history in its entirety.
Previously, the gallery began its description of one of Trump’s favorite predecessors, Andrew Jackson, this way: “Andrew Jackson’s life was colored by struggle, conflict, and aggression.” Now, it drops the omniscient judgment and quotes Jackson analyzing himself:
“‘I was born for a storm, and a calm does not suit me,’ Andrew Jackson reportedly told a friend.”
Earlier language about Woodrow Wilson made it clear that his progressivism was more than counterbalanced by racism and opposition to women’s equality: “Wilson is most often remembered as a champion of liberal values, but recent scrutiny has drawn attention to his regressive actions with regard to women’s voting rights and segregation in the government, as well as other violations of civil rights.
” The new wall text makes his belated and reluctant support of the 19th Amendment, which guaranteed women the right to vote, less ambiguous and equivocal. Racism isn’t mentioned, though segregation is discussed on labels for Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Warren G. Harding.
And the new wall text about Rutherford B. Hayes, whose election spelled the end of Reconstruction and the beginning of a newly violent effort to reimpose de facto slavery in the South, notes that with the withdrawal of U.S. troops, Black Southerners suffered “violent attacks from militias.” The original language referred to “white terrorist groups.”
Is this self-censorship, a strategic retreat or merely the happenstance of rewriting a lot of basic material for the umpteenth time? It is small stuff, but not insignificant, and as with so many developments in what will be a long struggle against the administration’s attempt to rewrite American history, they should be noted, contested, catalogued and remembered when the next reinstallation of the gallery takes place. No lies have been told, and the basic narrative is intact. But important details have gone missing.
None of this will temper the administration’s ambition, though it may disappoint some of the Portrait Gallery’s longtime supporters. Smithsonian supporters have been disappointed before, as when the institution canceled a 1995 exhibition about the U.S. plane that dropped the first atomic bomb on Japan and censored a work in the 2010 “Hide/Seek” exhibition, focused on images of LGBT people, at the Portrait Gallery.
But the Portrait Gallery came back from that exhibition, as other Smithsonian museums have from their own controversies. Trust in the institution has been consistently high, and if it survives the Trump administration, these small changes will eventually be amended, and we will get closer to the real, full, nuanced history of America. For now, the mission is to survive
What readers are saying
The comments reflect strong criticism of Donald Trump, focusing on his perceived attempts to manipulate historical narratives and his administration’s impact on institutions like the Smithsonian. Many commenters express concern over the “whitewashing” of history and the portrayal…
Addendum – Removing Blue Statue from the Kennedy Center
What is known:
The 24-foot sculpture Blue by Joel Shapiro was removed from the Kennedy Center grounds in September 2026 at the Kennedy Center’s request.[yahoo.com], [wusa9.com], [washingtonpost.com]
- Blue was installed in 2019 as part of the Reach expansion and was described by Shapiro as a “celebration of possibility.” [yahoo.com], [aol.com], [washingtonpost.com]
- Former Kennedy Center curator Josef Palermo claimed he was told by then-president Richard Grenell that Trump wanted an entirely new art collection after renovations and that outdoor artworks were to be removed. [washingtonpost.com]
- The Kennedy Center itself did not publicly state a specific reason for removing Blue. [yahoo.com], [khou.com], [artincontext.org]
What is not known:
- There is no public evidence in the article that President Trump specifically disliked Blue itself. The reporting does not quote Trump criticizing the sculpture or calling for its removal because of its artistic style, symbolism, or subject matter. [washingtonpost.com]
- The closest thing to an explanation is Palermo’s claim that Trump wanted a completely new collection when the Kennedy Center reopens after renovations. [washingtonpost.com]
So if someone asks,“Why did the President dislike this piece?”, the honest answer is:
Based on the reporting available, we do not know that Trump specifically disliked Blue. The article only provides a former curator’s account that Trump wanted new artwork throughout the campus. No public statement cited in the story explains any personal objection to Joel Shapiro’s sculpture. [washingtonpost.com]
As an art critic rather than a political observer, I would add that Blue represents a style that has often divided audiences. It’s an abstract, minimalist sculpture that suggests a human figure in motion without depicting one realistically. Advocates see it as energetic, playful, and expressive; critics sometimes see such works as obscure, inaccessible, or disconnected from traditional public monuments. [aol.com], [washingtonpost.com]
That broader aesthetic divide may help explain why some people love the piece and others do not. But that is an observation about modern art generally, not evidence of Trump’s thinking.
The more significant issue raised by the article is not whether Blue is a good sculpture. It is whether a major national arts institution should preserve established public artworks that were commissioned or gifted for a particular site, or whether a new administration has the right to substantially remake the institution’s artistic identity. That debate is ultimately about stewardship, institutional continuity, and who gets to define the cultural character of publicly supported spaces. [artincontext.org], [washingtonpost.com]
Kennedy Center removes landmark ‘Blue’ sculpture from campus
A former Kennedy Center curator said he was directed to “get rid” of the outdoor artwork because Trump wanted a new collection after renovations.
Crews work Wednesday to remove the sculpture “Blue” by Joel Shapiro from the Kennedy Center grounds in D.C. (Nathan Howard/Reuters)
Workers are removing a landmark sculpture from the grounds of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in the latest apparent attempt to remake the arts venue under the stewardship of President Donald Trump.
The towering sculpture of a sticklike human figure by Joel Shapiro, named “Blue,” was installed in the center’s grounds in September 2019 at the Reach expansion area overlooking the Potomac River. The figure, poised in mid-kick, was described by Shapiro at the time as a “celebration of possibility.” Shapiro, who gifted the work as a permanent installation, died last year.
The northbound lanes of Rock Creek Parkway were closed Wednesday morning near the venue so a crane could conduct the removal, according to a notice from the National Park Service.
The sculpture was first installed in 2019. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)
The Kennedy Center did not provide advance notice of, nor a reason for, the removal but said the work is being done at its request. The center said the Joel Shapiro and Ellen Phelan Foundation will determine where the sculpture is installed next.
“We are deeply grateful to Joel Shapiro for the years Blue has spent animating our campus and connecting visitors to his vision,” the center said in an emailed statement Wednesday. “We are honored to have been stewards of his vibrant work and a part of his enduring legacy.”
The Joel Shapiro and Ellen Phelan Foundation declined to comment on the move.
Josef Palermo, the center’s curator of visual arts and special programming from June 2025 to March, said Richard Grenell, then the center’s president, summoned him to his office almost a year ago and directed him to “get rid” of all the outdoor artwork on the campus. The order came because Trump wanted to have an entirely new collection when the center reopened after closing for two years of renovations, according to Palermo.
Crews began working to remove the sculpture by crane early Wednesday. (Matt McClain/FTWP)
Palermo said he does not remember Grenell singling out “Blue,” although he criticized other pieces.
Palermo said he tried to stave off the artworks’ removal. After hearing nothing about the plan in the more than five months since he left the center, he thought it might have been shelved.
Then he learned “Blue” was slated to be dismantled and hauled away.
“The removal of the sculpture today indicates to me that Donald Trump is still moving ahead with his plan to have all-new art for the reopening of the Kennedy Center,”
Palermo said.
Grenell did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
0:37
“Blue,” the towering sculpture of a sticklike human figure by Joel Shapiro, was removed from the grounds of the Kennedy Center on Sept. 2. (Video: Mariana Trujillo Valdes, Jade Tran/The Washington Post)
The removal marks the latest change to the high-profile venue, which has been mired in controversy since it was taken over by Trump in February 2025.
Trump replaced much of the board of trustees, which then elected him chairperson and voted to rename the center after him. A federal judge blocked efforts to keep Trump’s name on the building and ordered the letters removed, but the board later revived its attempt by voting to add his name to the facade as an inscription. Ticket sales and fundraising have collapsed since the center’s renaming, The Washington Post reported.
Workers stand next to a hole where Shapiro’s work stood. (Matt McClain/FTWP)
The board has also voted to close the Kennedy Center’s main campus for two years while it undergoes more than $250 million in renovations. Plans presented last month call for structural work on three major theaters and upgrades to electrical and plumbing systems. They also include $20 million to refresh public spaces and temporarily relocate materials memorializing President John F. Kennedy — including a 3,000-pound bronze bust — to the Reach during construction.
Those plans didn’t detail other major changes to art except to note that works would be conserved and archived.
Hands Off the Arts, an advocacy group that has campaigned against Trump’s changes to the institution, urged people to “say your final goodbyes to Blue, Joel Shapiro’s beloved figure,” in a post on social media Tuesday.
“Wednesday, September 2, 2026 will forever be known as the day the United States government tore down a piece of public art at the behest of a petulant crybaby. But it won’t be the last,” it said.
Jade Tran contributed to this report.
Addendum Arch Construction to Start in Two Weeks
Trump officials say work will start on triumphal arch within two weeks
The planned 250-foot-tall structure near Arlington National Cemetery is one of the president’s top construction priorities.
September 4, 2026 at 9:09 a.m. EDTToday at 9:09 a.m. EDT
By Dan Diamond
Administration officials Thursday announced they would soon begin work to build President Donald Trump’s planned 250-foot-tall triumphal arch, his most significant change to Washington’s skyline.
“We are preparing to start, over the next two-week period, the excavation work necessary,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum wrote on X.
The announcement comes three days after the Supreme Court allowed Trump to keep building his planned White House ballroom, with a 5-4 ruling that historical preservationists who sought to block that project lacked legal standing to bring their case to court.
That decision created new hurdles to other court challenges of Trump’s projects, legal experts warned, and Justice Department lawyers invoked it Thursday as they sought to dismiss a legal challenge to the arch.
The administration plans to build the arch in Memorial Circle, a traffic roundabout tucked inside Washington’s boundaries near Arlington National Cemetery. Trump has said that the arch will honor the nation’s 250th anniversary, vowing that it will be the largest triumphal arch in the world — about 86 feet taller than France’s famed Arc de Triomphe.
We are pleased to announce that after a very long wait (over 125 years!), we are preparing to start, over the next two-week period, the excavation work necessary for the Great Triumphal Arch and Military Observation Deck, at Memorial Circle on Columbia Island between the Lincoln… pic.twitter.com/8aff90jKNd
— Secretary Doug Burgum (@SecretaryBurgum) September 3, 2026
Historical preservationists, Democratic lawmakers and some Washington residents have opposed the project, calling it an oversize and inappropriate structure that will disrupt the historically solemn corridor between the military cemetery and the Lincoln Memorial.
It is also the subject of a lawsuit brought by several military veterans who say the towering structure would alter their experience when visiting the nearby military cemetery.
Administration lawyers Thursday asked a federal court to throw out the military veterans’ challenge to the arch, citing the Supreme Court ruling on the ballroom as precedent.
“Plaintiffs’ distaste for the perceived symbolism of the proposed arch does not establish a concrete and particularized injury,” Justice Department lawyers wrote.
Administration officials have laid out an aggressive timeline to potentially complete the arch within two to three years, saying that crews would work 20 hours per day, year-round. Trump and his deputies also contend that they do not need approval from Congress because lawmakers authorized a somewhat similar project a century ago that was never built.
“It was meant to be built for many years,” Trump said in the Oval Office in May. “The land is owned by secretary, by the Interior Department. We don’t need anything from Congress.”
The project already has received approval from the Commission of Fine Arts, a federal panel that reviews local design projects. The National Capital Planning Commission, a second federal panel that has been reviewing the project, has yet to issue final approval.
Democratic lawmakers have said that the arch must go through congressional review.
Flags in Memorial Circle, near Arlington National Cemetery. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)
Rep. Don Beyer (D-Virginia), who represents the district that includes Arlington National Cemetery, said Thursday that the administration was speeding the project ahead of the midterm elections. He cited the possibility of Democrats retaking control of a chamber of Congress and creating new barriers to the president’s projects.
“They believe, I hope correctly, that the project will be endangered by a new Democratic majority that actually stands up to Trump,” Beyer said in a statement. “This project is not even close to being ready for prime time.”
Lawyers for Public Citizen, a watchdog group that is representing the military veterans, have urged a federal judge to halt the project, too.
“Frankly, I’m befuddled as to what sort of legal authority the administration thinks it has behind it,” Nicolas Sansone, Public Citizen’s lead attorney on the case, said Thursday, citing the lack of final approval from the National Capital Planning Commission.
A White House official told The Washington Post on Thursday that administration officials do not believe they need approval for their planned work at the arch site, which they characterized as different from construction.
“We will of course continue on our path of seeking final approval from all applicable entities,” said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss planned construction.
Trump administration lawyers had told the judge that the project should not be halted because it had not officially begun. Officials also told the judge that they would provide the public at least 14 days’ notice before beginning construction.
Fifty-two percent of Americans are against the planned arch, compared with 21 percent who favor it, according to a Washington Post-ABC-Ipsos poll conducted in April.
Trump has prioritized construction of the arch, along with the ballroom and other Washington-area projects.
“When completed, it will be, without question, the Greatest Arch of them all!” the president wrote on his Truth Social platform in June.
What readers are saying
The comments express strong opposition to a proposed construction project by President Trump, described as a vanity project and a misuse of taxpayer money. Many commenters criticize the administration’s actions, likening them to authoritarian regimes and expressing a desire for… Show more
🇺🇸 The Kennedy Center: A Monument Recast
President Trump’s self-appointment as chairperson of the Kennedy Center triggered a cascade of changes:
- Board Overhaul: Replaced bipartisan trustees with loyalists like Richard Grenell.
- Programming Shift: LGBTQ+ events canceled; drag shows removed; honorees now include Stallone, KISS, and George Strait.
- Renaming Proposals: Bills introduced to rename the Opera House for Melania Trump and the center itself for Trump.
Artists responded with boycotts and resignations:
- Hamilton canceled its anniversary run.
- Renée Fleming and Ben Folds resigned.
- Shonda Rhimes, Issa Rae, and Louise Penny withdrew from scheduled events.
📎 Trump names Stallone, Strait among Kennedy Center honorees
📎 Shonda Rhimes and other artists flee Kennedy Center
📎 Trump exerts control over Kennedy Center Honors
🏛️ The Smithsonian: History Rewritten
The White House ordered a sweeping review of eight Smithsonian museums, demanding:
- Removal of “divisive or partisan narratives”
- Emphasis on “American exceptionalism”
- Elimination of references to systemic racism, trans identity, and Trump’s impeachments
Vice President J.D. Vance and attorney Lindsey Halligan were tasked with enforcing the new vision.
📎 White House announces Smithsonian review
📎 Smithsonian’s Decision to Omit Trump Impeachments Sparks Controversy
📎 What White House vetting of Smithsonian means for U.S. cultural institutions
🌍 Global Echoes: Cultural Control Abroad
🇷🇺 Russia
- Crackdowns on anti-war artists like Zemfira and Boris Akunin.
- Censorship of quotes by Mikhail Baryshnikov due to his Latvian citizenship and anti-war stance.
- Selective Heritage: Putin’s regime ranks loyalty above artistic merit, risking the erasure of Russia’s own dissident cultural legacy.
🇭🇺 Hungary
- University Restructuring: Public universities placed under politically appointed boards.
- Cultural Refocusing: Shift from European integration to national traditions.
- Funding Control: NGOs and media receiving foreign funds face restrictions.
📎 Hungary Cultural Policy Report
📎 Hungary Offers Model for Conservative Higher Ed Reform
Questions about the Smithsonian’s future
Several issues are now being debated:
- Institutional independence
Critics of the administration’s actions argue that political leaders should not directly shape historical interpretation inside museums. Supporters argue that government-funded institutions should be accountable when they are perceived as ideologically biased. [politico.com], [museumsass…iation.org]
- Funding and governance
Reporting notes that the Smithsonian receives a substantial portion of its budget from federal appropriations, making it vulnerable to pressure from Congress and the executive branch. [yahoo.com]
- Public trust
The broader fight is increasingly about whether Americans view the Smithsonian as a trusted educational institution or as another participant in the nation’s political and cultural conflicts. The White House report explicitly frames the issue as a battle over how America’s story is told. [museumsass…iation.org], [politico.com]
Is the Smithsonian facing closure or an existential crisis?
Based on the reporting I found, there is no indication that the Smithsonian Institution is expected to close, nor is there evidence that its museums face the type of operational shutdown controversy surrounding the Kennedy Center. [usatoday.com], [politico.com]
What is clear is that the Smithsonian is becoming a major front in a larger struggle over American history, civic identity, museum independence, and the role of federally supported cultural institutions. Whether that results in exhibit revisions, leadership changes, funding battles, or governance reforms remains the central unanswered question. [museumsass…iation.org], [politico.com], [usatoday.com]
Poems
38 lines
President Al Wilson
Not content with taking
Over the Kennedy Center
As part of the MAGA movement
Culture war against the communists
Radical left-wing Marxist
Enemies of real America.
Had decried that the Smithosonia
Must reflect traditional American values
And avoid divisive or anti-American
Or anti-Christian propaganda.
Therefore, he decreed,
The African American Studies Museum
Must close,
The African Art Museum
Must close.
The American Indian Museum
Must close.
The Smithsonian must be color blind
And not mention race or gender
Slavery or the treatment of American Indians,
And the whole Chinese Exclusion Act
And internment of Japanese Americans
Which was a good thing,
Or the holocaust, for that matter.
End anti-American, Anti-Christian,
Anti-MAGA, cultural Marxism
Radical lunatic left, CRT, DEI
And WOKE programming
Throughout the Smithsonian.
The African American museum holdings
And the American Indian Museum
And the African Art Museum
Will be sold off at an auction.
So the president decreed
MAGA baby all the way
OLetter Calling to Clean Up the Obscene Art at the Smithsonian
Dear Vice President
It has come to my attention that the Smithsonian museum has, for many years, openly displayed pictures of naked men, women, and children, mocking traditional Christian values. Their lame excuse has always been that they are showing “art”.
But this so-called “art” is basically pornographic in nature and should not be on display where children can see the artwork. Parents should not be forced to explain to young people about such degenerate art.
Furthermore, the African American History Museum is too focused on slavery and is anti-American in tone. The Museum of the American Indian is also too focused on the alleged genocide of the native Americans. It downplays the grumesome actions by native Americans against peaceful settlers, such as the depredations of the Apache savages in the 19th century. The African Art museum must also be closed. The Holocaust museum, which is independent must also be closed as it is too divisive and anti-American.
These museums need to be closed, and related collections.in other museums nationwide.
All the Smithsonian exhibits must be cleansed ofanti-American, Anti-Christian, cultural marxist, CRT, DEI, radical left-wing, WOKE, exhibits and anti-American content, and be replaced by pro-American exhibits showing the greatest of the greatest country on earth, and they must reflect the traditional Northern European ancestry of most Americans, including British, German, and Irish backgrounds, as well as traditional Protestant Christianity. An European American museum should be set up to replace the African American Museum. The Smithsonian should take over the Museum of the Bible and install it at the American Indian Museum. The African Art museum should be replaced with a Patriotic Art museum.
Please, sir, clean up the Smithsonian Institute of degenerate artwork, artwork depicting naked people, and close the cultural marxist, CRT, DEI, woke, left-wing content, and close the African American History museum, the Museum of the American Indians, and the African Art Museum.. Support cleansing all other museums as well by setting up a task force to make recommendations and cut off Federal funding to suspect museums. Sex museums and erotic art museums in SF and elsewhere must be closed as well.
All suspect art should be sold off at auction. After six months, items can be donated to anyone who wants to pick it up at their expense. After one year, the residual items will be disposed of as trash.
I ask this in Jesus’ name.
Rev. Bob Jones
First Baptist Church
North Little Rock
Arkansas, USA
✍️ Neo-Beatnik Takedown: “Velvet Chains and Marble Lies”
(Co-Pilot Poem)
Velvet Chains and Marble Lies
We took over the Kennedy Center,
he said—
Red velvet, gold trim,
no drag, no dread.
Melania’s name etched in stone,
History rewritten,
truth overthrown.
Smithsonian halls
scrubbed clean of shame,
No mention of impeachment,
no systemic blame.
American exceptionalism,
the new refrain—
Unity through erasure,
pride through pain.
Across the ocean,
Baryshnikov banned,
A genius erased
by a bureaucrat’s hand.
Hungary’s halls
echo Orbán’s creed,
Culture as loyalty,
not thought or need.
So here we sit,
in velvet chains,
Watching art
dissolve in partisan rains.
But the ghost
of Kennedy whispers low—
“Art is truth,
not just a show.”
Not for publication AI poem
Kennedy Center Take Over found Poem
“I would say
I was about 98 percent involved.
They all went through me.”
“I turned down plenty.
I had a couple of wokesters.”
“Since 1978,
the Kennedy Center honors
have been among
the most prestigious awards
in the performing arts.
I wanted one,
was never able to get one.”
“I waited
and waited
and waited
and I said
‘to hell with it
, I’ll become chairman.’
I will give myself an honor.
Next year we’ll honor Trump, okay?”
“In a few short months
since I became
chairman of the board
of the Kennedy Center,
we’ve completely
reversed the
decline of this cherished
national institution.”
“We’re going
to fully renovate the dated —
and really the entire
infrastructure of the building —
and make
the Kennedy Center
a crown jewel of American arts
and culture once again.”
“Look at the Academy Awards —
it gets lousy ratings now,
it’s all woke.
All they do is talk
about how much
they hate Trump,
but nobody likes that.”
“Just last year,
the Kennedy Center
featured drag shows
specifically targeting our youth —
THIS
WILL
STOP.”
“I said
I’m the president
of the United States.
Are you fools
asking me to do that?”
“The Kennedy Center
learned the hard way
that if you go woke,
you will go broke.”
And So It Goes—
the gradual taking down
of cultural institutions,
including the Smithsonian Institution,
universities,
law firms,
state governments,
blue cities,
and anyone
who stands in his way
to transform America
into a Christian fascist state.
Like his buddies—
Erdoğan, Orbán, and Putin.
Sinclair Lewis,
in his book
It Can’t Happen Here,
forecast how it could indeed
happen here.
Are we there yet?
Sadly, we are 80 percent there.
Will we go there?
I hope not.
But I am afraid
we are heading down
that path.
📎 Trump exerts control over Kennedy Center Honors
🎤 “Make Art Great Again” Blues
Co-PIlot Poem
I am the chairman,
the chandelier king,
Red velvet dreams
and marble things.
“We don’t need woke,”
he said with a grin,
“Some of the shows
were terrible —sin.
” Melania’s name
etched in gold,
Opera House reborn, s
tories retold.
“I know grass,
” he said,
“like I know golf
, DC’s parks?
Tired.
Let’s rip ‘em off.”
Drag queens vanished,
rainbows dimmed,
“Luxury, glamour”—t
he new hymn.
“98 percent involved,
” he boasts,
“Turned down wokesters,
raised the ghosts.”
J.D. Vance in the lobby,
portrait hung,
“American exceptionalism,”
songs unsung.
Artists flee,
curtains fall,
But the gala goes on,
red-white-ball
. So here we sit,
in velvet chains,
Watching culture
scrubbed of stains.
The ghost of Kennedy
whispers low—
“Art is truth, not just a show.”
Source: 📎 Trump exerts control over Kennedy Center Honors
The End
