Smithsonian Removes Mention of Trump Impeachments from Presidential Exhibit

Smithsonian Removes Mention of Trump Impeachments from Presidential Exhibit

TheSmithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery removed a wall text accompanying a portrait of US president Donald Trump thatcontained mention of his two impeachments, ahead of a January 13 deadline set by the White House for the organization to provide materials for a sweeping and unprecedented review. The text, which had appeared in the context of an exhibition titled “America’s Presidents,” accompanied a color portrait of Trump taken by photographer Matt McClain during his first term, and detailed a number of Trump’s accomplishments, including his promotion of the Covid-19 vaccine, his brokering of agreements between Israel and several Arab nations, and his “historic comeback in the 2024 election” after losing the 2020 election to Joseph R. Biden Jr. It also contained the line, “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.”

The Smithsonian replaced the McClain portrait with a black-and-white shot by White House photographer Daniel Torok. Showing Trump leaning on the Oval Office desk with both fists, and looking stonily into the camera, the portrait is accompanied by a brief label that makes no mention of the president’s past impeachments.

“For some new exhibitions and displays, the museum has been exploring quotes or tombstone labels, which provide only general information, such as the artist’s name,” said a National Portrait Gallery spokesperson in a statement. “The history of Presidential impeachments continues to be represented in our museums, including the National Museum of American History.”

A 2006 Chuck Close portrait of Bill Clinton is still accompanied by the sentence, “Clinton’s denial of his sexual relationship with a White House intern, while under oath, led to his impeachment, but he was not convicted in the Senate trial.”

The New York Times notes that the sentence about Trump’s impeachments was included by the White House in a list of complaints about former National Portrait Gallery director Kim Sajet’s behavior earlier this year. Trump claimed on social media earlier this past spring to have fired Sajet for being “a highly partisan person, and a strong supporter of DEI.” The Smithsonian’s board quickly affirmed its autonomy, but Sajet resigned shortly thereafter.

Since Trump’s installment a year ago, the administration has brought extreme pressure to bear on the Smithsonian, which was established in 1846 and operates independent of the US government, though it receives about two-thirds of its funding via Congress. This past December, the White House threatened to withdraw funding unless the institution shared requested materials ahead of a review of materials including descriptions of current exhibitions; programming files related to the celebration of the United States’ 250th anniversary; and draft plans for future shows and internal guidelines regarding exhibition development.