David Axelrod Warns of Trump’s ‘Stalinist’ Strong-Arming of the Smithsonian: ‘A Soviet Feel to It’
CNN commentator David Axelrod deemed President Donald Trump’s latest directive to the Smithsonian Institution “Stalinist” in nature.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that the Trump administration “plans to conduct a far-reaching review of Smithsonian museum exhibitions, materials and operations ahead of America’s 250th anniversary to ensure the museums align with President Trump’s interpretation of American history.”
White House officials sent a letter dated Aug. 12 to the Smithsonian’s chief, explaining, “This initiative aims to ensure alignment with the president’s directive to celebrate American exceptionalism, remove divisive or partisan narratives, and restore confidence in our shared cultural institutions.”
The letter went on to state that exhibits at the network of museums “should be accurate, patriotic, and enlightening.”
Axelrod, a former Obama administration official, appeared on Tuesday’s AC360 on CNN, where he criticized the directive and also noted Trump’s decision to restore and re-display statues of Confederates that had been taken down in recent years.
“The statues he wants to restore are people who were fighting to retain slavery, and that is just a historical fact,” Axelrod said before pivoting back to the Smithsonian. “This has just kind of a soviet feel to it, Stalinist feel to it that you… take over cultural institutions and historical institutions, and you try and rewrite history.”
Axelrod went on to accuse Trump of “rewriting history every day, and he believes that you can do that.”
“This is all around the 250th anniversary of our Founding Fathers declaring themselves free of a mad king,” he concluded. “And you wonder what they would think coming back today and watching this.”
Last month, the Smithsonian removed Trump from its presidential impeachment exhibit after pressure from the White House. Trump’s name was later restored to the exhibit with some changes.
Watch above via CNN.
