The Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History in Washington, DC, installed a new label describing President Donald Trump’s impeachment proceedings in its permanent exhibition on United States presidents after widespread backlash. The updated label, added on Friday, August 8, includes comparatively shorter and softer descriptions of the charges that led to the president’s double impeachment.
Late last month, the Smithsonian removed a display that explained Trump’s double impeachment, claiming it was a temporary installation. Following criticism and concerns that the removal may have been politically motivated, including a rebuke on the Senate floor by Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, the Smithsonian inserted a new account of the president’s charges on Friday, as first reported by the Washington Post.
The removal of the impeachment references followed Trump’s March executive order to purge the Smithsonian of so-called “divisive” narratives. However, the Smithsonian denied that it made changes to the exhibition under political pressure.
In a statement shared with Hyperallergic today, a Smithsonian spokesperson said the institution had completed its “update” of the display case pertaining to impeachments in its exhibition The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden. The institution also added admissions tickets from the 2019 and 2021 proceedings to the glass case, it said.
“Adhering to principles foundational to our role as the nation’s museum, we take great care to ensure that what we present to the public reflects both intellectual integrity and thoughtful design,” the Smithsonian’s statement reads. “Specifically, a temporary placard was not consistent with other sections in the exhibit and blocked part of the case. We removed it to make way for a more permanent update to the content inside the case.”
According to photos of the new display, the institution appears to have slightly shortened its description of Trump’s impeachments and added the word “alleged” to a sentence about Trump’s solicitation of foreign interference in the 2020 presidential election. In December 2019, the Democrat-led House of Representatives impeached Trump on charges related to soliciting Ukraine’s president to dig up disparaging information on Joe Biden and failing to comply with Congressional subpoenas. The Republican-led Senate ultimately acquitted President Trump on both counts.
The new label text also omits quotes from the Articles of Impeachment against Trump related to his role in the January 6 attack on the Capitol that were included in the previous version.
Below are the texts from the previous and new versions of the Smithsonian’s label.
Previous Version:
“On December 18, 2019, the House impeached Donald Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The charges focused on the president’s solicitation of foreign interference in the 2020 presidential election and his defiance of Congressional subpoenas. President Trump was acquitted in January 2020.
On January 13, 2021, Donald Trump became the first president to be impeached twice. The charge was incitement of insurrection, based on repeated “false statements” challenging the 2020 election results and his January 6 speech that “encouraged — and foreseeable resulted in — lawless action at the Capitol.” Because Trump’s term ended in January, his acquittal on February 13 made him the first former president tried by the Senate.”
Updated Version:
“On December 18, 2019, the House impeached Donald Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The charges focused on the president’s alleged solicitation of foreign interference in the 2020 presidential election and defiance of Congressional subpoenas. Trump was acquitted in January 2020.
On January 13, 2021, Donald Trump became the first president to be impeached twice. The charge was incitement of insurrection based on his challenge of the 2020 election results and on his speech on January 6. Because Trump’s term ended on January 20, he became the first former president tried by the Senate. He was acquitted on February 13, 2021.”
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