Smithsonian adds back impeachment language to label on Trump portrait

WASHINGTON – The Smithsonian Institution is once again mentioning the impeachments of US President Donald Trump on wall text accompanying his image at the National Portrait Gallery.

It had faced scrutiny months ago when text that described the President’s two impeachment trials was removed at a time when Mr Trump has been critical of the Smithsonian’s depiction of American history and sought to exert greater control over the institution.

The Smithsonian had assured historians that the removal was part of a larger revamp of how an exhibition at the gallery that focuses on American presidents presents information to the public. The updated exhibition was unveiled on May 15.

In the new wall, text accompanying a portrait of Mr Trump, the impeachments are mentioned in a list of important events from the President’s first term that appears alongside an excerpt from his 2021 presidential farewell speech.

Other events on the list are Mr Trump’s work on the Abraham Accords; his role in efforts to develop Covid-19 vaccines, known as Operation Warp Speed; the Jan 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol; and the George Floyd protests in 2020.

The White House had complained about the original wall text, which mentioned the impeachments in a short summary of Mr Trump’s first term.

“Impeached twice, on charges of abuse of power and incitement of insurrection after supporters attacked the US Capitol on Jan 6, 2021, he was acquitted by the Senate in both trials,” it read.

The new format, which is also used to describe other presidents, is more of a historical fact sheet and does not say why Mr Trump was impeached. The impeachment of Bill Clinton is included in wall text next to his portrait.

The revamp was led by the National Portrait Gallery’s historian, Dr Mindy Farmer, who said the project started in 2022 and included a core team of four scholars and educators.

“We followed all the normal review processes for the labels,” Dr Farmer said, explaining that Smithsonian leaders approved the changes. She said the President’s complaints about the previous display played no role in the process.

The White House had no strong objection to the new language beyond a concern about its scope.

“While we appreciate the Smithsonian Institution restoring a fair and accurate description to President Trump’s 45th presidency portrait,” said Mr Davis Ingle, a White House spokesman, “there are still many missing accomplishments from President Trump’s first historic first term”.

Mr Ingle also said that the White House was partnering with the National Portrait Gallery on an upcoming exhibition featuring paintings of Mr Trump from artists such as Vanessa Horabuena, a speed painter who has drawn religious images at the President’s parties.

The New York Times previously reported that administration officials had suggested such a display with multiple images of the President.

A museum spokesperson did not immediately respond when asked if such an exhibition was being planned.

In one of Mr Trump’s executive orders, he criticised the Smithsonian, which receives nearly two-thirds of its budget from the government, as promoting “narratives that portray American and Western values as inherently harmful and oppressive”.

Since then, the President announced that he fired the National Portrait Gallery’s director, who later resigned from her position.

The White House also began a comprehensive review of Smithsonian materials, including wall texts and exhibition language, saying it wanted to “ensure alignment with the President’s directive to celebrate American exceptionalism, remove divisive or partisan narratives and restore confidence in our shared cultural institutions”.

Descriptions of other presidents have also changed, at times with some softening of the language.

A description of Thomas Jefferson previously said that he “consistently enslaved African Americans” though he described it as an “abominable crime”. His slaveholding is still mentioned in the new text, but it includes an excerpt from the founding father opining about the “deplorable entanglement”, adding that “I shall not live to see it but those who come after us will be wiser than we are, for light is spreading and man improving”.

Another example involves a description of Rutherford Hayes, whose election marked the end of Reconstruction.

The text now describes how the withdrawal of federal troops from the South led to Black Southerners suffering “violent attacks from militias”. The previous language described the assailants as “white terrorist groups”. The Washington Post noted this change in an earlier report.

“That was done more to give a better description of what was happening at the time,” Dr Farmer said. “There were many different types of militia groups and we were trying to be a little more clear.”

Dr James Millward, a Georgetown University historian who is part of a grassroots effort to monitor the existing language in Smithsonian museums, said that museum officials were carefully navigating a political minefield.

“I might quibble with their treatment of the text,” he said. “But there is no sign of them caving to White House pressure with these changes. If they had, those facts about the impeachment wouldn’t be there.”

Visitors on the morning of May 15 were also taking in the exhibition changes.

“You can’t capture all of the details about every president,” said Mr Peter Scherr, a 60-year-old visitor to the museum, who seemed more focused on the intensity of Mr Trump’s portrait than the accompanying description.

“Everybody else is sort of serene and calm,” he said.

Asked if the Smithsonian was prepared to make additional changes to the text if the White House complained, Ms Concetta Duncan, a National Portrait Gallery spokeswoman, said: “The Smithsonian makes full content decisions.”

Officials also noted that the gallery’s texts have periodically changed; the last time there was a substantive revision was in 2017.

Dr Farmer said that the latest round of changes included other efforts to educate visitors on presidential history, including links to videos of presidential speeches and primary documents like letters installed in the gallery.

“I just hope visitors learn something,” Dr Farmer said. “I would love for us to have a common dialogue about history.” NYTIMES