Trump asks the Smithsonian for Washington statues and a new exhibit
AP reports that Trump asked the Smithsonian to install an 11-foot George Washington statue for Constitution Day, later replace an outdoor sculpture with a 30-foot Washington statue, and create an exhibit and a Center for American Heroes.
Response / context
AP reports that the Smithsonian operates outside the executive branch under a Board of Regents and that it is unclear whether Trump can compel the requested changes. No Smithsonian response or confirmed implementation was reported in the article text reviewed.
Dates and scope
Source publication: Sep 12, 2026 · 12:14 AM EDT
Event or conduct: 2026-09-11. AP says the requests were made in late-Friday social-media posts while Trump was flying to Ireland.
Dated report. Publication, event and review times are different.
This brief preserves the available response and disposition. Coverage is non-exhaustive. How we review sources.
Read the original sources
- Associated Press: Trump asks Smithsonian to install George Washington statues and exhibit ↗
Published September 12 at 00:14 ET · indexed article text read
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