White House pressure to eliminate Trump impeachment mentions denied by Smithsonian
The Smithsonian's National Museum of American History has announced plans to update the impeachment section of its "The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden" exhibit, with a focus on including references to all U.S. presidential impeachments, including both of Donald Trump’s impeachments.
In a statement made on Saturday, the museum confirmed that the updated exhibit will be installed at the Smithsonian in the coming weeks. This decision follows the temporary removal of references to Trump's impeachments from the exhibit in 2021, as the section had not been updated since its initial installation in 2008 and the temporary placard added to reflect Trump's impeachments did not meet the museum’s design standards.
The label added to the exhibit in 2021 refers specifically to Trump's impeachments and will be part of the "Limits of Presidential Power" section, which is a part of the exhibit on the American presidency housed at the museum. The museum did not specify who from the White House announced Trump's inclusion in the updated exhibit, but they did confirm that the White House had previously announced that Trump would be included in an updated exhibit "in the coming weeks."
Museum spokesman, Phillip Zimmerman, had previously mentioned the future inclusion of all impeachments in an updated exhibit. The forthcoming update will comprehensively include all impeachments in U.S. history, covering Andrew Johnson, Richard Nixon, Bill Clinton, and Donald Trump. The museum emphasized their commitment to presenting accurate, complete historical narratives and clarified that this addition was not influenced by any government requests.
The Smithsonian had previously pledged to include all impeachments in a future exhibit, but the timeline for the new exhibit was unclear. With the recent announcement, visitors to the museum can look forward to a more comprehensive and up-to-date exhibit on the American presidency in the coming weeks.
The Smithsonian's decision to update its "The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden" exhibit includes a focus on policy-and-legislation related to impeachments, particularly the impeachments of various U.S. presidents, such as Donald Trump. The ongoing politics surrounding Trump's impeachments has been a topic of general-news, and the museum's upcoming exhibit will reflect these events in a more comprehensive and accurate manner.
