Trump Calls for Five-Year George Washington Smithsonian Exhibit

President Donald Trump called on the Smithsonian Institution to create a five-year exhibition honoring George Washington, while renewing criticism of the museum organization’s approach to U.S. history.

In a Truth Social post Friday, Trump argued that under its recently ended leadership, the Smithsonian focused too heavily on people who suffered oppression while giving insufficient attention to Americans who overcame adversity.

Trump proposed that the National Museum of American History host an exhibition celebrating Washington’s life and legacy through February 22, 2032, marking the 300th anniversary of the first U.S. president’s birth.

He also called for the Smithsonian to erect a 30-foot “Colossus statue” of Washington outside the museum. In addition, Trump requested that an 11-foot Washington statue displayed at the recent Freedom 250 Grand Prix be installed in the museum’s Flag Hall.

The proposal follows months of tensions between the Trump administration and the Smithsonian. On Tuesday, Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch announced his retirement. Trump has repeatedly accused the institution of promoting what he describes as “anti-American ideology” and placing excessive emphasis on slavery and other darker periods of U.S. history.

The administration previously launched a review of several Smithsonian museums and threatened federal funding and agency support. The White House has also accused the National Museum of American History of “thinly veiled anti-Americanism.” Bunch has rejected that characterization as unfair.

Historians and civil rights advocates have criticized Trump’s campaign against the Smithsonian, arguing that changes to exhibits could minimize important aspects of American history and reverse progress in acknowledging slavery and discrimination.

The Smithsonian, one of the United States’ leading cultural and research institutions, operates 21 museums and galleries as well as the National Zoo.

Trump’s broader push to reshape how federal institutions present American history has extended to museums, national parks and monuments, with his administration supporting the removal of some slavery-related exhibits and the restoration of Confederate statues.