1984 In 2025

Do you remember in 1984 the part about... "Who controls the past controls the future; who controls the present controls the past."

Smithsonian museum removes label referencing Trump impeachments

The label had been added to a display at the National Museum of American History about checks on presidential powers in 2021 following Trump's second impeachment

The Guardian

By Joseph Gedeon

Fri 1 Aug 2025

The Smithsonian Institution has scrubbed all mention of Donald Trump’s impeachments from a prominent display at the National Museum of American History, temporarily eliminating any acknowledgment of the president’s unique status as the only US leader the House impeached twice.

The alterations to the presidential power exhibit, first reported by the Washington Post, occurred in July, with museum officials replacing contemporary signage with an older version that excludes Trump’s impeachment proceedings entirely. Visitors now see only a generic reference to three presidents facing potential removal from office.

Museum representatives confirmed the changes followed an institutional review of exhibition content.

“In reviewing our legacy content recently, it became clear that the ‘Limits of Presidential Power’ section in The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden exhibition needed to be addressed,” a Smithsonian spokesperson told the Guardian. “Because the other topics in this section had not been updated since 2008, the decision was made to restore the Impeachment case back to its 2008 appearance.”

The spokesperson pledged that “a future and updated exhibit will include all impeachments,” though they provided no specific timeline for implementation.

Wait a minute! “In reviewing our legacy content recently, it became clear that the ‘Limits of Presidential Power’ section in The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden exhibition needed to be addressed,” but... but it said it was removed... they are are saying it wasn't there in the first place! Newsweek wrote,

The controversy centered on "The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden" exhibit, which included a temporary label about Trump's impeachments that was added in September 2021. Trump remains the only U.S. president to have been impeached twice.

The article goes on to say,

The Smithsonian confirmed the temporary label remained in place until July before being removed during a review of legacy content.

In a statement posted to the museum's website, the Smithsonian said the placard "did not meet the museum's standards in appearance, location, timeline and overall presentation."

"It was not consistent with other sections in the exhibit and moreover blocked the view of the objects inside its case," the statement continued. "For these reasons, we removed the placard. We were not asked by any Administration or other government official to remove content from the exhibit."

Which leads to another question... so why didn't they leave it up until the new new plaque arrived?