The Smithsonian Institution has removed a label from the National Museum of American History exhibition The American Presidency that referenced Donald Trump’s two impeachments. The news of the removal was first reported this week by the Washington Post and confirmed to Hyperallergic by a Smithsonian spokesperson.
The exhibition alteration comes months after the Trump administration committed to a widely condemned purge of so-called “improper, divisive, or anti-American” ideology from the Smithsonian network of museums and research centers.
The official rationale for the removal of impeachment references, according to a Smithsonian statement shared with Hyperallergic, was that other displays in the presidential exhibition had not been updated since 2008. A spokesperson for the institution said that descriptions of Trump’s two-time impeachment were added to a section that discussed presidential impeachments, public opinion, Congress, and the Supreme Court in September 2021, months after the January 6 attack on the Capitol.
After news of the removal of Trump impeachment references triggered global headlines, the Smithsonian publicly stated over the weekend that no “administration or other government official” pressured the institution to remove content from the exhibition. The Smithsonian also said in a news release that the portion of the exhibition titled Impeachment would be updated within weeks to reflect “all impeachment proceedings in our nation’s history.”
According to the Washington Post, the removed label also mentioned the impeachments of Bill Clinton, Andrew Johnson, and Richard Nixon. The Smithsonian did not provide an image of the removed display.
The American Presidency permanent exhibition first opened in 2000 and spans 7,500 square feet, divided into thematic sections, including a display dedicated to Abraham Lincoln’s top hat.
“Because the other topics in this section had not been updated since 2008, the decision was made to restore the Impeachment case back to its 2008 appearance,” the spokesperson said. “A large permanent gallery like The American Presidency that opened in 2000 requires a significant amount of time and funding to update and renew. A future and updated exhibit will include all impeachments.”
Adding references to Trump’s impeachment to the presidential history survey, the spokesperson continued, was intended to be a “short-term measure to address current events.”
The spokesperson said the label remained on view until some point this July, after a recent review of content. In June, the Smithsonian first announced that it would conduct reviews to ensure “unbiased” content throughout the museum, but did not specifically state that it would follow through with Trump’s demands, which included eliminating what the president called “race-centered ideology” in his March executive order.
Trump is the only US president to be impeached twice. Both proceedings occurred during his first term, but did not result in his removal from office. The president was first impeached after he was accused of pressuring Ukraine to dig up disparaging content on Hunter Biden, and for a second time for his role in the January 6 insurrection.
Congressional democrats have called for an investigation into the impacts of Trump’s Smithsonian executive order, warning that the president’s intentions infringe on the institution’s congressionally ensured independence. The public fallout from Trump’s crackdown on the Smithsonian has so far included the resignation of Kim Sajet, who served as the National Portrait Gallery’s director for over a decade and whom Trump accused of being a “highly partisan person” on his Truth Social account. He threatened to fire Sajet, an action the president does not have the power to take, shortly before the Smithsonian announced her departure.
This month, artist Amy Sherald canceled an upcoming exhibition after she said the National Portrait Gallery considered removing her painting of a transgender Statue of Liberty, “Trans Forming Liberty” (2024), and replacing it with a video of people reacting to transgender issues.
Editor’s note 8/4/25 10:58am EST: This article was updated with a new statement from the Smithsonian Institution.
