{"id":433,"date":"2026-05-16T04:05:20","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T04:05:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=433"},"modified":"2026-05-16T04:05:20","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T04:05:20","slug":"smithsonian-adds-back-impeachment-language-to-label-on-trump-portrait","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=433","title":{"rendered":"Smithsonian adds back impeachment language to label on Trump portrait"},"content":{"rendered":"<article>\n<div>\n<p><span>WASHINGTON &#8212; The Smithsonian Institution is once again mentioning the impeachments of President Donald Trump on wall text accompanying his image at the National Portrait Gallery.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=431\">100th win one to savor, but for BC High rugby coach Paul Carty, growing the game is the vision<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>It had faced scrutiny months ago when text that described the president\u2019s two impeachment trials was removed at a time when Trump has been critical of the Smithsonian\u2019s depiction of American history and sought to exert greater control over the institution.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span>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 Friday.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In the new wall text accompanying a portrait of Trump, the impeachments are mentioned in a list of important events from the president\u2019s first term that appears alongside an excerpt from his 2021 presidential farewell speech.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Other events on the list are Trump\u2019s 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 U.S. Capitol; and the George Floyd protests in 2020.<\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div><span>Get Starting Point<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span>A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday.<\/span><\/div>\n<div>\n<div><label>Enter Email<\/label><\/p>\n<div><button>Sign Up<\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>The White House had complained about the original wall text, which mentioned the impeachments in a short summary of Trump\u2019s first term. \u201cImpeached twice, on charges of abuse of power and incitement of insurrection after supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, he was acquitted by the Senate in both trials,\u201d it read.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The new format, which is also used to describe other presidents, is more of a historical fact sheet and does not say why Trump was impeached. The impeachment of Bill Clinton is included in wall text next to his portrait.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The revamp was led by the National Portrait Gallery\u2019s historian, Mindy Farmer, who said the project started in 2022 and included a core team of four scholars and educators.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cWe followed all the normal review processes for the labels,\u201d Farmer said, explaining that Smithsonian leaders approved the changes. She said the president\u2019s complaints about the previous display played no role in the process.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The White House had no strong objection to the new language beyond a concern about its scope.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cWhile we appreciate the Smithsonian Institution restoring a fair and accurate description to President Trump\u2019s 45th presidency portrait,\u201d said Davis Ingle, a White House spokesperson, \u201cthere are still many missing accomplishments from President Trump\u2019s first historic first term.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Ingle also said that the White House was partnering with the National Portrait Gallery on an upcoming exhibition featuring paintings of Trump from artists such as Vanessa Horabuena, a speed painter who has drawn religious images at the president\u2019s parties.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>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.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=429\">Rent control is dead in Providence, for now, after failed veto override<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>In one of Trump\u2019s executive orders, he criticized the Smithsonian, which receives nearly two-thirds of its budget from the government, as promoting \u201cnarratives that portray American and Western values as inherently harmful and oppressive.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Since then, the president announced that he fired the National Portrait Gallery\u2019s 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 \u201censure alignment with the president\u2019s directive to celebrate American exceptionalism, remove divisive or partisan narratives and restore confidence in our shared cultural institutions.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Descriptions of other presidents have also changed, at times with some softening of the language. A description of Thomas Jefferson previously said that he \u201cconsistently enslaved African Americans\u201d though he described it as an \u201cabominable crime.\u201d His slaveholding is still mentioned in the new text, but it includes an excerpt from the founding father opining about the \u201cdeplorable entanglement,\u201d adding that \u201cI 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.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>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 \u201cviolent attacks from militias.\u201d The previous language described the assailants as \u201cwhite terrorist groups.\u201d (The Washington Post noted this change in an earlier report.)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cThat was done more to give a better description of what was happening at the time,\u201d Farmer said. \u201cThere were many different types of militia groups and we were trying to be a little more clear.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>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.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cI might quibble with their treatment of the text,\u201d he said. \u201cBut there is no sign of them caving to White House pressure with these changes. If they had, those facts about the impeachment wouldn\u2019t be there.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Visitors on Friday morning were also taking in the exhibition changes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cYou can\u2019t capture all of the details about every president,\u201d said Peter Scherr, a 60-year-old visitor to the museum, who seemed more focused on the intensity of Trump\u2019s portrait than the accompanying description. \u201cEverybody else is sort of serene and calm,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Asked if the Smithsonian was prepared to make additional changes to the text if the White House complained, Concetta Duncan, a National Portrait Gallery spokesperson, said, \u201cThe Smithsonian makes full content decisions.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Officials also noted that the gallery\u2019s texts have periodically changed; the last time there was a substantive revision was in 2017. 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.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cI just hope visitors learn something,\u201d Farmer said. \u201cI would love for us to have a common dialogue about history.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=427\">Golden Knights docked second-round pick, coach John Tortorella fined $100K for breaking media rules<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>This article originally appeared in The New York Times.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Smithsonian Institution is once again mentioning the impeachments of President Trump on wall text accompanying his image at the National Portrait Gallery.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":432,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-433","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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