Brian Laird on WNYC, presidential historian Douglas Brinkley is with us now to talk about this moment in America as we continue to ask on this show.

Is this what democracy looks like?

Brinkley was quoted in the New York Times article on Tuesday about President Trump ordering

the Smithsonian Institution to adjust the, quote, tone, historical framing, and alignment with

American ideals, unquote, of the Smithsonian's historical and artistic exhibitions. The president

posted this week that, quote, the Smithsonian is out of control, where everything discussed is how

horrible our country is, how bad slavery was, and how unaccomplished the downtrodden have been,

nothing about success, nothing about brightness, nothing about the future,

unquote. This all comes after an earlier executive order back in March that directed the

Smithsonian to, quote, remove improper ideology, remove improper ideology, unquote. The AP says that

order covers all areas of the institution, including its

museums, education and research centers, and the National Zoo. And it's not just the Smithsonian,

which is a federal government-related institution. Last week, Trump posted that he would be using

government power to influence the ideology of the nation's private museums as well.

He said, quote, I have instructed my attorneys to go through the museums and start the exact same

process that has been done with colleges and universities, unquote.

This all comes just as Trump announced his handpicked list of awardees for this year's Kennedy Center honors.

To get away from artists, he considers woke, he has also suggested that they rename that institution, the Trump Kennedy Center.

The AP reminds us that in the executive order in March, Trump singled out for criticism the National Museum of African American History and Culture,

part of the Smithsonian, which opened in 2016 near the White House, the Women's History Museum,

which is in development, and the American Art Museum. And this comes after some other history

related directives. Here's a reminder of one from a New York Times headline from June.

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