Smithsonian Strips Mention of Trump’s Impeachments in New Portrait Display

AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.

The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery removed text referring to President Donald Trump’s impeachments when it replaced his portrait in an exhibition of U.S. presidents last week.

The previous portrait of Trump shown in the gallery’s “America’s Presidents” exhibition included accompanying text describing Trump’s career and time in office– a similar format to the wall text descriptions of other presidential portraits in the gallery.

The text included the lines: “Impeached twice, on charges of abuse of power and incitement of insurrection after supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, he was acquitted by the Senate in both trials.”

But when the previous portrait was replaced on Thursday with one taken by White House photographer Daniel Torok, all accompanying text was removed, save identifying Trump’s birth year and naming him as the 45th and 47th president.

Trump is the only president whose display in the gallery did not include any extended text as of Sunday. Notably, the text accompanying President Bill Clinton’s official portrait notes that he was impeached for “lying while under oath about a sexual relationship he had with a White House intern.”

The gallery said in a statement that the change was part of planned update to the exhibit, noting that it had previously rotated two photographs of Trump from its collection before hanging Torok’s.

“The museum is beginning its planned update of the America’s Presidents gallery which will undergo a larger refresh this Spring,” the gallery statement said. “For some new exhibitions and displays, the museum has been exploring quotes or tombstone labels, which provide only general information, such as the artist’s name.”

White House spokesman Davis Ingle said in a statement that Torok’s portrait was an “iconic photo” of the president and that “his unmatched aura will be seen and felt throughout the halls of the National Portrait Gallery.”

The Smithsonian took a similar action in July when its National Museum of American History removed – and the restored – mentions of Trump’s two impeachment proceeding from an exhibit entitled “The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden.”

When Trump attempted to fire National Portrait Gallery director Kim Sajet in May, the White House compiled a list of grievances about her alleged bias which included the Gallery’s mentions of Trump’s impeachments, according to The New York Times which reviewed the list.

The president has been a frequent critic of what he has referred to as the institution’s “woke” practices. In August, Trump fired off a Truth Social post attacking the Smithsonian Museum for a host of things — including showing “how bad slavery was.”

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