Smithsonian leadership crisis and Trump museum independence attacks
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Smithsonian head hits back at Trump attacks in speech
Lonnie Bunch received a standing ovation from hundreds of audience members.
Lonnie Bunch was the founding director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Lonnie Bunch is the outgoing secretary of the Smithsonian Institution.
Smithsonian faces Trump culture war as Lonnie Bunch III retires
Lonnie Bunch III was the founding director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, which opened 10 years ago.
The White House issued a 162-page report on July 4, 2025 blasting the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.
Bunch was hired by the Air and Space Museum's then-director, former Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins, nearly 50 years ago.
“Anybody that knows me personally knows my love of this nation. I'm the son of somebody who was a World War II veteran. I can remember every Memorial Day going to parades. So, I come at it from a world of, let us love our nation, but let us not be afraid to understand the totality of who we are. I believe very strongly that you can run from history, but you can't hide.”
Fox News critique of Smithsonian exhibit on American history
The display states that American armies destroyed 40 Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) towns and burned their harvests while residents fled.
The book "An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States" suggests that the United States was founded upon White supremacy and genocide and claims that the federal government is still carrying out ethnic cleansing against natives.
A video display claims that an American soldier shot and killed Chief White Eyes, a Lenape chief who had allied with the Americans.
Trump asks Smithsonian to install Washington 'Colossus statue'
Trump requested the exhibit continue through February 2032, the 300th anniversary of Washington's birth.
Trump asked the Smithsonian to install an 11ft statue of Washington featured at the recent Freedom 250 IndyCar race in the museum's Flag Hall for Constitution Day on 17 September.
Trump's administration issued a 162-page report in March 2025 accusing the museum of focusing too much on oppression, social justice and division rather than shared national achievements.
“but I feel very strongly that it is as independent as we were before, and that I will continue to fight – for as long as I’m in this chair – for the independence of the Smithsonian.”
Smithsonian chief's exit
Lonnie G. Bunch III was the first African American to lead the Smithsonian.
An earlier executive order on K-12 education declared that the purpose of American history in museums and schools should be to create a shared American identity grounded in patriotic admiration for the nation.
On 28 August, the Department of Interior issued a letter to the Smithsonian declaring that action must be taken against a radical institutional ideology at the National Museum of American History.
Supreme Court chief justice praises outgoing Smithsonian leader under Trump administration pressure
The Trump administration released a July report criticizing the National Museum of American History in particular.
Burgum and Haley wrote a letter to Congress laying out concerns about ideological capture and potential misconduct among the Smithsonian's leadership.
Smithsonian secretary Lonnie Bunch, 73, announced plans to retire after more than a year of tension with the White House over how U.S. history is presented at the institution.
Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch to retire amid Trump attacks on museum independence
The White House report was published by the White House Domestic Policy Council.
Bunch was named secretary in June 2019, making him the first African American and first historian to serve in the role.
Bunch has been part of the Smithsonian Institution for 38 years.