A White House official told NBC News that Trump plans to expand his review of museums beyond the Smithsonian, which is based in Washington, D.C.

Claims that a White House official in charge of U.S. President Donald Trump's mandate to review exhibits within the Smithsonian Institution said, "You can't really talk about slavery honestly unless you also talk about hope and progress," circulated online in August 2025.

It's not about whitewashing, it's all 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.

Special Assistant to the President Lindsey Halligan said the Smithsonian museums had become "laboratories for political experiments."