How the Smithsonian became the latest front in Trump’s culture war
The Smithsonian has faced withering pressure from the Trump administration.
In November 2021, the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History unveiled an exhibition titled "The Electric Dr. Franklin." The display highlighted Benjamin Franklin's groundbreaking contributions to electrical science, but also acknowledged that he had held enslaved individuals in his household prior to becoming an abolitionist.
The exhibit suggested that Franklin might have utilized these enslaved people in his electrical experiments, stating that he occasionally employed family and friends as subjects, though he rarely named them. While the museum closed the exhibit in 2025, it remains accessible online. This revelation sparked controversy, with a scathing 162-page White House report published in July alleging that the museum had succumbed to "ideological capture."
The report claimed the museum's mission had shifted from "straightforward historical education and scholarship" towards "extreme political activism" aimed at transforming the country.
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