President Donald Trump is urging the Smithsonian Institution to mark Americas 250th birthday by elevating George Washington literally and symbolically to a place of towering prominence in the nations capital.
Trump laid out his proposal in a series of Truth Social posts, calling for the museum complex to embrace the nations founding rather than the left-wing academic fashions that now dominate its exhibits, according to Western Journal. Im asking for the Smithsonian to install the 11-foot Washington statue that was featured at the recent Freedom 250 Grand Prix Race in the Museums Flag Hall, and dedicate it this Constitution Day, September 17, 2026, he wrote, framing the move as a fitting tribute during the semiquincentennial. But the president made clear that this would be only the beginning of a broader effort to restore patriotic storytelling to the taxpayer-funded institution.
Trump said he wants the Smithsonian to immediately design and display a five-year exhibition worthy of the Life, Sacrifice, and Contributions of George Washington. He then urged the institution to go even further, declaring, Then, as soon as it is ready, install a 30-foot Washington Colossus where Infinity stands today.
As noted by The Washington Post, Infinity is a ribbon of thin stainless steel mounted atop a rotating black granite pylon. Trump argued that the abstract piece is emblematic of a cultural elite that has lost touch with the nations heritage, saying it was appropriate to replace a sculpture that says nothing about America with the man who, more than anyone else, says everything about America.
In a subsequent Truth Social post, Trump expanded his proposal into a long-term commemoration of the first president. He called for a five-year exhibition at the National Museum of American History, beginning now, and continuing through, February 22, 2032, the 300th anniversary of Washingtons birth.
Trump contrasted Washingtons legacy with what he sees as the emptiness of the current installation. In speaking of his call for a new sculpture to replace Infinity, Trump said, That strange modernist sculpture tells visitors nothing about America, inspires no one, and honors none of our Great American Heroes. George Washington does. He is easily Americas Greatest Hero. Without him, our Country and our Freedoms wouldnt exist.
The president also accused the Smithsonian of neglecting the most decisive episodes of the Revolutionary War. And yet, during our Nations 250th Anniversary Year, the Museum has failed to give George Washington and our other Founding Fathers the celebration they deserve, he wrote. Washingtons Heroic Crossing of the Delaware on December 25, 1776 One of the greatest moments and turning points of the Revolution is not even mentioned in the Museum. His Victory at Trenton, and the stories of the Americans who fought and died for our Independence, deserve far more attention, he wrote.
Trump argued that this omission is not accidental but the product of an ideological shift within the institution. Trump said the museum needed a change. Under recently ended leadership, the Smithsonian created a Center for Restorative History, and commissioned a Decolonization Plan, to focus attention overwhelmingly on those who have been oppressed, but there is almost no attention paid to those who triumphed over great oppression, and against great odds, Trump wrote.
He pointed to one exhibit as a telling example of the mindset now shaping the museums narrative. One current exhibit describes the period of 1492 to 1776, including Christopher Columbuss discovery of the New World, and the European settlement of America, as the Great Unsettling of the Continent. That tells you all you need to know about how twisted the thinking is today at the Smithsonian, he wrote.
Trump urged the museum to abandon activist frameworks and return to honoring achievement, courage and nation-building. Instead of a Center for Restorative History, Americas National History Museum should have a Center for American Heroes. Tell the stories of Americans who faced great challenges, overcame them, built great things, defended our Country, made America better, and helped our Nation more fully live up to our Founding Ideals. That is a History worth teaching, because it is Americas story, Trump wrote.
He insisted that a publicly funded institution has a duty to present the American story with pride rather than guilt. Instead of focusing on ideological activism, the leaders of Americas taxpayer-funded, National History Museum should be focused on telling Americas story fairly, accurately, and coherently and there is no better person to start with than George Washington, he posted.
As noted by The Hill, Trump has repeatedly chastised Smithsonian leadership for embracing progressive narratives that cast the nations founding in a negative light. Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch recently announced he will step down at the end of the year after sustained criticism from Trump and other conservatives who argue the museum has drifted away from its core mission.
Trumps latest proposal underscores a broader debate over who controls the story America tells about itself and whether its premier cultural institutions will continue to prioritize grievance-based decolonization projects or return to celebrating the figures who built and defended the republic. By demanding a monumental tribute to Washington and a multi-year exhibition centered on his Life, Sacrifice, and Contributions, Trump is pressing the Smithsonian to choose between abstract, politicized installations and a concrete reaffirmation of the nations founding ideals.
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