An Invisible Cut - How the Smithsonian Erases Trump's Impeachments from History

It is an intervention that arrives quietly but is of enormous significance: The Smithsonian has removed the references to Donald Trump’s two impeachments from the exhibit at the National Museum of American History. Instead, the old wording from 2008 now appears again, in which only three presidents are named as seriously threatened by impeachment: Andrew Johnson, Richard Nixon, and Bill Clinton. Trump’s double impeachment - a historical exception - thus disappears for the time being from the immediate visibility of American memory culture. Officially, the Smithsonian speaks of a temporary measure. Spokesperson Phillip Zimmerman explained that the exhibit “The American Presidency” is in need of an overhaul after 25 years. The thematic areas around Watergate, the Clinton affair, and the limitation of presidential power have not been updated since 2008, which is why the presentation was reset to the last consistent state. The temporary signage on Trump’s impeachments, installed in 2021 in response to the events of that time, was actually never intended to be permanent. Yet it remained in place for four years - until now.

The timing of this correction is anything but neutral. Since his return to the White House, Donald Trump has exerted massive pressure on Washington’s cultural institutions. He cut funding, replaced leading officials, and subjected museums, galleries, and foundations to an ideological review. In March he issued the decree “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,” with which he indirectly accused the Smithsonian of maintaining a “divisive, race-focused ideology.” Vice President J.D. Vance was tasked with ensuring that no government funds go to projects that “degrade shared American values” or “promote programs that are inconsistent with federal law and policy.” In this climate, the removal of Trump’s impeachments is more than just a curatorial step - it is a symbolic act. Critics see it as an attempt to selectively cleanse history and gloss over political reality. Because no other president of the United States has been impeached twice by the House of Representatives: in 2019 for pressuring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to initiate investigations against Joe Biden, and in 2021 for “incitement of insurrection” during the storming of the Capitol on January 6. Both proceedings ended with an acquittal in the Republican-dominated Senate, yet they mark a historical singularity that now physically disappears from the museum narrative.

The debate extends far beyond Washington. Historians and opposition representatives warn that the return to the “sanitized” 2008 version creates a dangerous precedent: Political power shapes memory, and national museums that are supposed to operate independently bend under pressure. The announcement that a future update will once again include all impeachments remains vague and without a set timeline. In the meantime, the current image of the exhibit shapes what millions of visitors from around the world see - and what they do not. In total, this creates a quiet but powerful cut in the American historical narrative. It shows how quickly the fragile balance between historical documentation and political influence can tip. A museum may exchange its panels, change its texts, and shift its focus. But when the Smithsonian of all institutions, the national memory of the United States, begins to fade out the uncomfortable, curatorial routine becomes an act of cultural and political explosiveness. The memory of Trump’s impeachments continues to exist - in documents, archives, and digital databases. But the moment of direct confrontation, the moment when a museum visitor stands before the display and sees their own history, is lost for now. In this silence lies a quiet but unmistakable warning: History cannot be undone, but it can be made invisible.

Investigative journalism requires courage, conviction – and your support.