Smithsonian denies White House pressure and says Trump impeachment reference will return soon

The Smithsonian Institution is promising to bring back a display referencing US President Donald Trump's two impeachments – just in a new, “updated” form.

That announcement, posted to the Smithsonian’s official X account on Saturday, comes after a quiet removal of the Trump placard from the National Museum of American History triggered concern that political pressure may be reshaping the public record.

But according to the museum, there was no nudge from the White House to scrub Trump’s name.

“We were not asked by any Administration or other government official to remove content from the exhibit,” the institution’s statement read.

Still, the timing raised eyebrows – particularly as Trump continues his campaign to “restore truth” to what he sees as “anti-American” cultural spaces, including the Smithsonian itself.

The removed placard had been part of a display called “Limits of Presidential Power”, which documents moments in US history where presidents have been challenged or checked – including the impeachments of Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton, and the Watergate scandal.

Trump, uniquely, is the only president to have been impeached twice.

His first impeachment, in 2019, centred on allegations he pressured Ukraine’s president to investigate political rival Joe Biden. The second, in 2021, followed the storming of the US Capitol by his supporters on January 6, and accused Trump of “incitement of insurrection”.

In both cases, the House voted to impeach, and the Senate voted to acquit.

The Smithsonian says the Trump placard, added in 2021, had been a temporary measure. “The placard… did not meet the museum’s standards in appearance, location, timeline, and overall presentation,” the museum’s statement read. It reportedly blocked the view of some objects inside its case.

While the museum has now promised a new display “in the coming weeks” that will reflect “all impeachment proceedings in our nation’s history,” it hasn’t said exactly when or how the exhibit will change.

A spokesperson, Phillip Zimmerman, said earlier that a future version would include “all impeachments” – but specifics remain hazy.

All of this is playing out as Trump sharpens his focus on reshaping public institutions.

In March, he signed an executive order titled "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History", which explicitly targets the Smithsonian. The order puts Vice President JD Vance – who sits on the Smithsonian’s Board of Regents – in charge of scrubbing what Trump calls “improper ideology” from the institution.

Trump has said he wants to eliminate “divisive narratives” and protect the country’s “founding principles.” He claims there’s been a campaign to “rewrite” US history in a way that casts America in a negative light.

And while Trump is not on the board himself, he has taken aim at the institution before – most notably when he declared he’d fired Kim Sajet, then director of the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery. She continued to report to work, but later resigned on her own.