The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C., has removed references to President Donald Trump in a display about impeachments, despite Trump being the first and only president in American history to be impeached twice. But the museum says the move is temporary.
The Washington Post first reported the change on Thursday, July 31. On Friday, Aug. 1, the Smithsonian clarified the museum’s removal. Here’s what we know.
Smithsonian: Display restored to 2008 appearance
The “impeachment” display is housed within the larger, permanent gallery called “The American Presidency,” which opened in 2000, according to an emailed statement from the Smithsonian. It features information and artifacts about Andrew Johnson, Bill Clinton and Richard Nixon, according to the display’s companion website. Nixon resigned before he could be formally impeached.
In September 2021, a “temporary label on content concerning the impeachments of Donald J. Trump” was added, according to the Smithsonian’s statement. “It was intended to be a short-term measure to address current events at the time, however, the label remained in place until July 2025.”
The display has since been returned to how it appeared nearly 20 years ago, according to the Smithsonian statement and the Washington Post’s report, which also noted that the exhibit now says, “only three presidents have seriously faced removal,” omitting Trump.
“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,” the museum’s statement said. “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.”
Website highlights other impeached presidents
The companion website for the display does not include a dedicated section for the Trump impeachments but notes in an introductory sentence, “The House of Representatives impeached Andrew Johnson in 1868, William J. Clinton in 1998, and Donald Trump in 2019 and again in 2021. In all four cases the Senate voted to acquit.”
It includes sections about Johnson’s impeachment, including tickets and newspaper clips from the time; Nixon’s Senate hearing and resignation, including testimony papers and photos from the proceedings; and Clinton’s trial, with tickets and Senate question cards.
‘All impeachments’ coming in the future
“A future and updated exhibit will include all impeachments,” the Smithsonian statement said, noting that updating and renewing permanent galleries”requires a significant amount of time and funding.”
The Smithsonian declined to answer further questions about the change and the timeline for an updated exhibit.
The controversy around the Smithsonian’s change to the display comes after the White House in May pushed for the removal of art director Kim Sajet from her role as director of the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, citing her “strong support” of “DEI.”
In March, Trump also signed an executive order demanding the removal of “anti-American ideology” from the Smithsonian and other cultural institutions.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Smithsonian responds after Trump removed from impeachment exhibit
