Smithsonian Institution remains under attack

Smithsonian Institution remains under attack

Vincent Haley, director of Domestic Policy Council attacks Smithsonian Institution

By Lynda Carson - July 19, 2026

The Smithsonian Institution, which has faithfully served the American public for over 180 years, has repeatedly come under a vicious and brutal attack by the convicted felon President Donald J. Trump, and his henchman Vincent Haley a.k.a Vince Haley, director of the Domestic Policy Council.

As recent as July 4, 2026, the White House published/released a horrific 162-page report of lies, deceit, and propaganda called “Saving America’s Story,” accusing the Smithsonian Institution, its leadership, and the National Museum of American History (NMAH), of engaging in "extreme political activism" and presenting "a radical view of American history."

Reportedly, "Saving America's Story" is a 162-page report released by the Trump administration's Domestic Policy Council on July 4, 2026, targeting the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. The report accuses the museum of ideological bias, alleging it erases shared national heritage and traditional foundational history in favor of overly critical and divisive narratives.”

In response to the lies, deceit, and propaganda coming from the White House, reportedly, “In an internal letter to Smithsonian staff by Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch, it says, “The Smithsonian leadership is "carefully" reviewing the report's findings.

While there will always be room for improvement, this report is not a fair characterization of the work and totality of the National Museum of American History. At the Smithsonian, our work is driven by scholarship, accuracy, and an uncompromising commitment to tell the fullness of America's story.

As public servants and the keepers of this institution, we are charged with helping a nation find understanding, hope, and clarity and as part of that duty, we are dedicated to excellence, reflection, and growth.

Every day, we are honored to tell America's stories and hold that responsibility with the utmost regard, respect, and fidelity. We remain committed to fulfilling our mission for generations to come.”

Vincent Haley a.k.a Vince Haley, director of the Domestic Policy Council.

Indeed. Vincent Haley a.k.a Vince Haley, was picked by the convicted felon President Donald J. Trump in 2025, to be the Director of the Domestic Policy Council.

According to a release with Wikipedia, in part is says, “The Domestic Policy Council (DPC) is the principal forum used by the president of the United States for the consideration of domestic policy matters and senior policymaking, and includes Cabinet members and White House officials. The Council is part of the Office of Policy Development, which itself is within the Executive Office of the President of the United States.”

That’s right. As director of the Domestic Policy Council, Vincent Haley a.k.a Vince Haley, is directly responsible for the on-going attacks against the Smithsonian Institution, and its leadership.

Additionally, as recent as June 18, 2026, Vince Haley along with the notorious Trump regime was ordered by a federal court to restore exhibits related to topics including slavery, women's suffrage, Native Tribes, and climate change, with the National Park Service.

This is the same Vince Haley along with the convicted felon President Donald J. Trump who was sued by a group of Vietnam War veterans in an attempt to block Trump's massive proposed “Independence Arch,” near Arlington National Cemetery, in Washington D.C.

According to public records. Vincent Haley, reportedly of Falls Church, VA, is a staunch Republican campaign contributor who made numerous campaign contributions in 2023.

A financial disclosure form filed by Vincent Haley in 2025, provides more information about the man directly responsible for the numerous vicious and brutal attacks against the Smithsonian Institution, and its leadership.

Historians Defend the Smithsonian Institution

In contrast to the lies, deceit and propaganda of the White House, according to a July 9, 2026 release, in part it says, “The Smithsonian Institution is a world-renowned institution with a commitment to scholarship and accuracy, and to telling the full history of the United States based on informed analysis of historical evidence. Yet on July 4, 2026, as the United States commemorated the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, the White House Domestic Policy Council issued a report attacking the independence of our National Museum of American History.

Espousing a circumscribed definition of patriotism, the report severely limits whose experiences count as important to American history and demands the museum replace evidence-based history with a historically inaccurate, expressly celebratory narrative of American exceptionalism. Its anonymous authors overlook a central lesson of the nation’s founding: the United States was forged by finding common purpose amid intense divisions, conflicts, and disagreements. The founders, and subsequent generations of Americans, embraced a patriotism that was capacious enough to encompass both pride in the nation’s achievements and criticism of its shortcomings, challenging us to more fully embody as a nation those ideals set out in our founding documents. Only honest history can provide Americans with a full and complex understanding of the events that shaped—and continue to shape—us.”

The Japanese American National Museum (JANM) Supports The Smithsonian Institution

In a July 17, 2026 release with JANM, in part it says, “The Japanese American National Museum (JANM) stands in full support of the Smithsonian Institution and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, and repudiates the report of the White House’s Domestic Policy Council attacking its Director Anthea Hartig and other museum professionals at the Smithsonian for their laudable work to explore the full complexity and diversity of U.S. history.

The administration released the 162-page report “Saving America’s Story” on July 4, part of a year-long effort to undermine public trust in the Smithsonian and other museums and pressure them to present a simplistic, whitewashed view of American history. The report claims that the Smithsonian “has not met its obligations to the American people” and accuses the National Museum of American History of “anti-white” activism.

While the report’s authors purport that the museum should include a broader history and discuss grave injustices such as slavery, in reality the report reads as a list of grievances where every label with a factual statement about Native American lands, Jim Crow laws, women’s suffrage, immigration, and LGBTQ+ identities is cited as evidence of “ideological” bias.

JANM, a Smithsonian affiliate, is proud to have partnered with the Smithsonian on “Our Shared Future: Reckoning with Our Racial Past” — a program criticized by the Domestic Policy Council report — in 2023, and related efforts by the Smithsonian under Secretary Lonnie Bunch to envision a broader, inclusive view of the U.S. at 250, including “Civic Season,” “Youth 250,” and the lecture series “Making History, Making Change.”

“Museums must be places of truth, not propaganda — spaces where the next generation can confront the complexity of our nation’s injustices, mistakes, and darkest chapters; where empathy, social responsibility, and the courage to defend democracy are nurtured,” said Ann Burroughs, president and CEO of JANM and the Daniel K. Inouye National Center for the Preservation of Democracy. “There is a reason why museums are among the most trusted institutions, and it is because of the work of historians and professionals like those at the Smithsonian.”

Time Response To Domestic Policy Council Attack On Smithsonian Institution

In a July 8, 2026 report with Time, in part it says, “On the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the Trump Administration attempted to declare independence from history with the release of “Saving America’s Story.” Assigned an Orwellian title that obscures the effort to rewrite America’s story, the 162-page Domestic Policy Council report, published on the White House’s website on July 4, attacks the archivists, curators, educators, historians, and museum professionals who work at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. That the administration has chosen to do this at precisely the moment when it is gutting the National Archives and censoring historical exhibits at national parks demonstrates that the new report is just one part of a broader effort that threatens to reduce American history to conservative ideology.

Make no mistake about it: the report represents an attempt to turn back the clock to a time when U.S. history was taught as the history of white Christian men who conquered a continent, U.S. military leaders who never lost a battle, and U.S. presidents who were single-handedly responsible for national greatness. In educational contexts, we expect math and science teachers to offer up-to-date lessons that reflect today’s knowledge, not outdated information that has been discredited and superseded by leading scholars in their fields; we should expect the same in historical, humanities, and museum contexts. If the National Museum of American History adopts the approaches recommended in the new report, the majority of Americans—immigrants, women, workers, people of color, people with disabilities, and LGBTQ+ people—will not see themselves represented, and America’s rich and complex history will be reduced to shallow, superficial, and simple-minded stories.”

Feel free to support and protect the Smithsonian Institution and its leadership from the fascist convicted felon President Donald J. Trump.

Lynda Carson may be reached at newzland2 [at] gmail.com


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