The Secretary of the Smithsonian has defended the iconic institution after a savage new White House report.
The 162-page report, titled “Saving America’s Story” was released by the Executive Office of the President on July 4. It takes particular aim at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, which it claims is led by “radical activists.”
The explosive report claimed that the museum’s mission has moved “from straightforward historical education and scholarship toward an extreme political activism that seeks to transform our country.”
It also stated that the leadership of the museum had “explicitly adopted an ideological framework that no longer treats the American story as a shared national inheritance to be taught or celebrated, but as a political instrument to divide, dispirit, and discourage our citizens.”
Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch, 73, has defended the museum in an email sent to staff on Tuesday, and obtained by the Washington Post on Wednesday.
Bunch, the first African American to lead the institution, told staff members “we continue to review the report and its findings carefully” and noted that “there will always be room for improvement.”
However, Bunch’s email said that the White House report “is not a fair characterization of the work and totality of the National Museum of American History.”
He added, “At the Smithsonian, our work is driven by scholarship, accuracy, and an uncompromising commitment to tell the fullness of America’s story.”
The email said that as part of their role at the museums, the staff “are charged with helping a nation find understanding, hope, and clarity and as part of that duty, we are dedicated to excellence, reflection, and growth.”
Bunch said the institution remains committed to “scholarship, nonpartisanship, independence, accuracy, and integrity.”
A spokesperson for the Smithsonian confirmed to the Daily Beast that Bunch sent the email and provided a comment first released after the initial report.
“For more than 180 years, the Smithsonian has served the American public with nonpartisan and independent scholarship, and we remain committed to doing so,” the statement read.
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
External scholars have also defended the museum in the face of the Trump administration’s brutal assessment.
The Organization of American Historians released a statement on Monday condemning the White House’s report, claiming its objective was to punish the museum” for how it “makes U.S. history accessible to and reflective of all Americans."
It said the report was “part of an ongoing and multi-pronged assault by the Trump administration against accurate and evidence-based history in American public life.”
The OAH stated in August last year that no president has the “legitimate authority” to dictate the content of the Smithsonian’s exhibitions, after Trump released an executive order titled “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History.”
At the the time, the OAH called out “the White House’s effort to assert control over the Smithsonian’s staff, archives, donors, public-facing content, curatorial processes, exhibition planning, and collection use” as an “alarming infringement on the autonomy and integrity” of the distinguished institution.
Speaking to Meet the Press last Sunday, Bunch said the Smithsonian is “the glue that helps hold a nation together” in divided times.
“You look at who visits the Smithsonian. Everybody, red states, blue states, whatever your politics, you come to the Smithsonian,” Bunch said. “Why? Because you want to understand who you are, right? It’s about celebrating, but also understanding.”
