President Donald Trump is calling on the Smithsonian to replace a decades-old sculpture outside the National Museum of American History with a “colossus” statue honoring George Washington.
Trump wrote in a Truth Social post Friday night that he is asking the Smithsonian to honor the nation’s first president with a 30-foot statue ahead of Washington’s 300th birthday in 2032. The statue would replace the abstract “Infinity” sculpture, which has welcomed visitors at the museum’s entrance since 1967.
“Replace a sculpture that says nothing about America with the man who, more than anyone else, says everything about America,” Trump said in the post.
Along with the statue, Trump also asked the institute to create a five-year exhibit dedicated to the first president and to install the 11-foot statue of Washington created for the Freedom Grand Prix race in August in the museum’s Flag Hall. That statue should be in place no later than Constitution Day on Sept. 17, the post said.
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The demands are the latest in Trump’s attempt to control the Smithsonian despite having no direct oversight of the independent agency. The Smithsonian has become part of the culture war during Trump’s second term as the president pushes back against what he calls “a revisionist movement.”
Trump has accused the Smithsonian of casting American history in a negative light. In a March 2025 executive order, he criticized the institution as promoting a narrative “driven by ideology rather than truth.” The Trump administration later launched a review of exhibitions at multiple Smithsonian museums, ultimately publishing a list of exhibitions it found objectionable.
Lonnie Bunch, secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, has defended the agency’s independence through it all. He announced last week he would step down by the end of the year.
In another Truth Social post Friday, Trump bashed “recently ended leadership” at the Smithsonian for giving too much attention to oppressed groups and not enough to people who overcame challenges.
“Instead of focusing on ideological activism, the leaders of America’s taxpayer-funded, National History Museum should be focused on telling America’s story — fairly, accurately, and coherently — and there is no better person to start with than George Washington,” Trump wrote.
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