Wes Moore: Trump order over Smithsonian museums is ‘deeply disrespectful’
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) said President Trump’s order looking to control the “divisive narratives” at Smithsonian museums and federal sites is “deeply disrespectful.”
Moore joined CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday, where host Dana Bash asked about Trump’s recent order, which cites an exhibit at the American Art Museum titled “Stories of Race and American Sculpture” and references the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
“I just find it deeply disrespectful that their definition of making America great again is actually challenging some of the things that makes America great in the first place,” Moore said.
Moore said America is a place that was created by inviting people in from all around the world to be part of its journey.
“And loving your country does not mean lying about its history,” he said. “Loving your country does not mean dismantling those who have helped to make this country so powerful and make America so unique in world history in the first place.”
Trump’s executive order claims the Smithsonian Institution, which operates many museums in Washington, has “come under the influence of a divisive, race-centered ideology” in recent years.
“Museums in our nation’s capital should be places where individuals go to learn — not to be subjected to ideological indoctrination or divisive narratives that distort our shared history,” the order said.
It gives Vice President Vance the ability to eliminate content from the museums that do not align with the Trump administration’s vision. It will also give Interior Secretary Doug Burgum the power to determine if public monuments, memorials or statues removed during the Biden administration give a “false construction” of American history.
Moore, the first Black governor of Maryland and third Black governor of any state, said history should not be erased, but lifted up and celebrated.
He said that him being elected to lead the state of Maryland is not indoctrination, it’s history.
“It’s a joint collective history and it’s one that we should be celebrating, talking about the history of this country, all parts of it, flaws and all because that’s what gives America strength and that’s what makes us move forward,” Moore said.