President Donald Trump’s latest crusade against “woke” institutions collided head-on with Democratic fury this weekend, as House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries accused him of acting like a “racial arsonist” by downplaying the horrors of slavery.
The clash erupted after Trump unleashed a tirade on Truth Social, railing that the Smithsonian Institution—home to America’s most renowned museums—was “out of control,” fixated only on “how horrible our Country is” and “how bad Slavery was.”
Speaking on CNN’s State of the Union, Jeffries dismissed the comments as historically ignorant and morally grotesque. “There is no good aspect of slavery,” the New York Democrat said. “Donald Trump is once again behaving like a racial arsonist.”
The Smithsonian in Trump’s Crosshairs
While the president has no direct authority over the Smithsonian, its sprawling network of 21 museums and 14 research centers is governed by a Board of Regents that includes Vice President JD Vance. Trump, however, claimed he had instructed his lawyers to review the Smithsonian’s collections.
Days later, the official White House website posted an article titled “President Trump Is Right About the Smithsonian.” The piece attacked exhibits that highlight LGBTQ experiences, a painting of migrants crossing the southern border, and a National Portrait Gallery effort to make its collection less “wealthy, pale, and male.”
For critics, the move underscored Trump’s determination to seize cultural ground as part of his broader war on what he calls “woke ideology.”
Jeffries: “History Cannot Be Erased”
Jeffries said Democrats would not allow Trump to weaponize history. “The Smithsonian should continue to hold the line and make sure this very painful part of American history is not erased, but is understood by everyone across this country and throughout the world,” he said.
The Smithsonian itself did not comment on Trump’s remarks, but staff have long maintained that exhibitions about slavery, civil rights, immigration, and inequality are central to telling America’s story honestly.
A Wider Battle Over Memory
Trump’s attacks on cultural institutions follow a pattern. In recent months, he has lashed out at school curricula, library programs, and national monuments, framing them as anti-American. His administration’s allies have doubled down: a top Trump aide even claimed the Smithsonian had an “overemphasis on slavery,” prompting an avalanche of backlash.
For Jeffries and other Democrats, the danger isn’t just historical revisionism—it’s the deliberate stoking of division. “Extraordinary,” Jeffries said, that a president would even suggest there was something redeemable about slavery.
Political Stakes
The Smithsonian controversy comes as Trump is already under fire for his handling of Jeffrey Epstein records, his plan to deploy troops to Chicago, and his administration’s escalating redistricting battles. Democrats see his attacks on the Smithsonian as part of a calculated strategy: energize his base by vilifying cultural institutions while distracting from economic and political turmoil.
Yet for many, the optics are damning. By targeting a museum system that chronicles slavery, civil rights, and the struggles of marginalized communities, Trump risks reinforcing the very accusations of racism he tries to brush off.
Jeffries’s sharp rebuke—labeling him a “racial arsonist”—may well become the defining soundbite of this latest cultural skirmish.
