The Smithsonian Institution's National Portrait Gallery has made a notable alteration to its historical presentation of former U.S. President Donald Trump. Visitors to the gallery's "American Presidents" exhibit on Sunday, January 11, 2026, observed that the display featuring a photograph of Trump no longer includes any mention of his two impeachments by the U.S. House of Representatives.
Details of the Display Change
The exhibit, located in Washington, D.C., consists of a presidential photograph accompanied by a short informational plaque. According to an Associated Press report from that day, the updated plaque text now omits the historical fact that Trump was impeached twice during his single term in office—first in December 2019 and again in January 2021. The original display had previously included this significant detail as part of the official biographical record.
The change was first publicly noted at the start of 2026, though the exact date when the institution revised the text is not specified. The Smithsonian, which operates the National Portrait Gallery, is a federally funded complex of museums and research centers, making its curatorial decisions a subject of public interest and scrutiny.
Context and Institutional Role
The National Portrait Gallery's "American Presidents" collection is a permanent exhibition that aims to present a historical record of the nation's leaders through portraiture. The gallery states its mission is to tell the story of America by portraying the people who have shaped its culture. The removal of a major political event from a presidential biography touches on broader questions about how museums, particularly those with public funding, document and present complex history.
This action occurs in a political climate where the presentation of history is often debated. The decision to edit the contextual information for a sitting president's portrait is rare and has drawn attention from historians and political observers alike.
Reactions and Implications
While the Smithsonian has not issued a public statement regarding the specific reasoning behind the text revision, such a change inevitably fuels discussion about historical narrative and institutional neutrality. Museums frequently review and update exhibit text to reflect new scholarship or to adjust the focus of a display. However, the deletion of a well-documented constitutional process like impeachment from a presidential record is a significant editorial choice.
The alteration raises important questions about the role of national institutions in preserving an unvarnished historical account. It also highlights the challenges these institutions face in presenting recent, politically charged history in a manner they deem appropriate for a public, non-partisan space. The decision will likely be analyzed as part of the ongoing discourse on how America's recent past is memorialized for future generations.
