Smithsonian removes impeachment references from Trump portrait amid gallery label refresh
Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery replaced a detailed caption for President Trump's portrait with a brief label, omitting references to his two impeachments during gallery update.
Overview
What happened: The National Portrait Gallery switched a photograph of President Trump and removed the longer portrait label, displaying only birth year, presidential numbers and dates.
Removed details: The prior label noted Trump's Supreme Court nominations, COVID-19 vaccine development and that he was impeached twice — for abuse of power and incitement of insurrection.
Smithsonian explanation: Officials say the gallery is beginning a planned 'America's Presidents' refresh and experimenting with shorter 'tombstone' labels providing minimal information like artist credits.
Context and controversy: The change follows President Trump's public criticism of the Smithsonian, his executive order on museum content, and a wider White House review of museum exhibits.
Others remain labeled: Impeachment references for Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton and Nixon's resignation remain in their labels; museum says impeachments are still represented elsewhere.
Analysis
Center-leaning sources frame the story as an assertive effort by Trump to reshape public history, emphasizing institutional change and political motives. Editorial choices—words like "accused of bias," "asserts his influence," and spotlighting the Smithsonian review—prioritize government policy and control narratives; quoted spokesman praise and gallery statements are presented as source content, not framing.
Sources (10)
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(749x0:751x2)/Donald-J-Trump-011026-2-7f7d7988e8fb45058231a52b3e152d7e.jpg)
FAQ
According to a Smithsonian spokesperson, the National Portrait Gallery is beginning a planned update of its “America’s Presidents” gallery and is experimenting with shorter “tombstone” labels that provide only minimal information such as artist credit, dates, and basic biographical details, which led to the removal of the longer text about Trump’s impeachments and January 6.
The previous label noted that Donald Trump was impeached twice, describing the charges as abuse of power and incitement of insurrection after his supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, and stated that he was acquitted by the Senate in both trials.
The gallery replaced the earlier color portrait with a black-and-white photograph taken in the Oval Office by White House photographer Daniel Torok, showing Trump standing behind the Resolute Desk with his fists on the desk.
The Smithsonian has stated that the history of presidential impeachments remains represented in its museums, including the National Museum of American History, and that the broader exhibition program continues to address impeachments even as the Trump portrait label was shortened.
The change is controversial because Trump’s impeachments and the January 6 insurrection were removed from his portrait label while other presidential scandals and impeachments remain noted elsewhere, leading critics to question whether the modification reflects political pressure or selective historical omission rather than a neutral design decision.
History
4 sources