Lindsey Halligan, the White House official leading a review of the Smithsonian Institution, said you “can’t really talk about slavery honestly unless you talk about hope and progress” during a Newsmax appearance on Wednesday.
Newsweek contacted the Smithsonian Institution for comment on Thursday via email outside of regular office hours.
Why It Matters
On August 12 Halligan wrote to Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch saying the White House would lead “a comprehensive internal review of selected Smithsonian museums and exhibitions.”
On his Truth Social website President Donald Trump described the Smithsonian as “OUT OF CONTROL” and said museums across the United States are “WOKE.”
Critics have accused the White House of “political interference” and pushing a “sanitized” version of history, while supporters claim the Smithsonian fails to achieve political balance.
Kevin Dietsch/GETTY
What To Know
Speaking to Newsmax Halligan said she had written to the Smithsonian asking for details about its exhibits to try and find where the museum group “went wrong,” adding: “Museums that are over 70 percent funded by the federal government shouldn’t be laboratories for political experiments.”
Referring to slavery Halligan added: “It’s not about whitewashing it’s about full context, so while slavery is obviously a horrible aspect of our nation’s history you can’t really talk about slavery honestly unless you also talk about hope and progress and I think we need to be focusing on the progress that we’ve made then and we need to stop focusing so much on the lack of progress.
“We need to keep moving forward as a country. Our 250th anniversary as a country is coming up next July and we’re hoping the Smithsonian and D.C. is beautiful and amazing and a place that all Americans want to come visit during that time.”
A clip of Halligan’s comments was shared on X by Aaron Rupar, an independent journalist.
White House official Lindsey Halligan: “While slavery is obviously a horrible aspect of our nation’s history, you can’t really talk about slavery honestly unless you also talk about hope and progress … we need to stop focusing so much on the lack of progress.” pic.twitter.com/aKPbaRFkwq
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 21, 2025
Halligan wrote to Smithsonian Secretary Bunch on August 12 saying she would lead a “comprehensive internal review of selected Smithsonian museums and exhibitions.”
According to the letter the first phase of the review will focus on the following museums: National Museum of American History, National Museum of Natural History, National Museum of African American History and Culture, National Museum of the American Indian, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian American Art Museum, National Portrait Gallery, and Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden.
It said additional museums could be included later as part of a second phase of the review.
In a statement sent to Newsweek the Smithsonian said: “The Smithsonian’s work is grounded in a deep commitment to scholarly excellence, rigorous research, and the accurate, factual presentation of history.
“We are reviewing the letter with this commitment in mind and will continue to collaborate constructively with the White House, Congress, and our governing Board of Regents.”
On August 14 Mary Trump, the president’s estranged niece, highlighted his pressure on the Smithsonian Institute as an example of the “unique threat” she believes he poses to the future of the U.S.
The removal of an exhibition covering Trump’s two impeachment bids from the Smithsonian National Museum of American History recently sparked backlash.
What People Are Saying
Lindsey Halligan said on Newsmax : “Classrooms shouldn’t be stages upon which teachers can preach their various indoctrination masquerading as eternal truths and similarly museums that are over 70 percent funded by the federal government shouldn’t be laboratories for political experiments.
“And what we’re doing is we just sent a letter to the Smithsonian asking for more information regarding their exhibits, their placards, to try get to the bottom of what happened and where the Smithsonian went wrong and try to make the Smithsonian amazing and great and live up to what the president wants the Smithsonian and D.C. to be.”
Sarah Weicksel, the executive director of the American Historical Association, told Newsweek via email: “The Smithsonian has an international reputation for the integrity of its research and scholarship, and it is a trusted resource to which teachers turn for high quality educational content. Partisan political intervention into museum professionals’ work stands to erode public trust. The public must have access to a whole and complex history of the American past, not the sanitized and incomplete version preferred by the current administration.”
What Happens Next?
It remains to be seen what changes the Smithsonian Institution will make in response to criticism from the White House, and what the reaction to these will be from the broader artistic and historical communities.
