Historian, author, and museum executive Dr. Jody Edward Ginn confidently believes the “woke” Smithsonian has lost its way.
“It’s a completely different place than when I was there in 2012,” he told Fox News in an exclusive interview after visiting the National Museum of American History (NMAH) for the first time in over a decade.
“Its mission is clearly exactly what they changed it to be. It is a museum for activism. They use history, but that’s kind of the problem. You know, scholars of history, and I don’t consider these folks scholars anymore. They’re activists,” he added.
Ginn visited the museum after the Trump administration’s Domestic Policy Council published a bombshell report accusing the Smithsonian of not being interested in presenting American history but rather twisting it to use it “to advance ideas of social justice and the radical transformation of our society.”
White House Domestic Policy Council Director @vincehaley: “They view the Smithsonian, in the words of the Director, as a ‘prime tool of social justice’ … The effect of this kind of ideological capture is to abolish American identity.” pic.twitter.com/SKOIrF4BU6
— Scott Adams (@scottadamsshow) July 8, 2026
“From the moment I walked in, it’s a very different experience,” Ginn said to Fox News, recalling his visit. “Now, I wasn’t totally shocked by this because I’ve been watching this evolution in my field for over a decade.”
He added that as he made his way through the exhibits, it dawned on him that the Smithsonian seeks to “specifically direct” visitors “to action” rather than provide them with information so they may “make their own decisions.”
“It became this goal, their own stated goal, to turn museums from institutions of education, of public education, into institutions to encourage activism, which could also be said to indoctrinate,” he noted.
Making matters worse, he found “factually incorrect information” in some exhibits, though he argued that the information that the exhibits purposefully didn’t include was just as misleading.
The biggest problem is in what they leave out,” he said, arguing that the museum’s more “graphic” and sexually explicit exhibits have no place in a family museum.
“[They’re] out of sync with what museums were just a few years ago,” he insisted. “These are geared towards all ages. Why would you do that? All of that’s out of sync with what museums were just a few years ago.”
A historian traveled from Texas to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History after reading a Trump administration report accusing it of failing its mission — and says what he found confirmed his worst fears.
Dr. Jody Edward Ginn, a public historian and museum… pic.twitter.com/nRzD5D5Bim
— Fox News Politics (@foxnewspolitics) August 4, 2026
Perhaps the most egregiously “woke” content can be found at the National Museum of American History’s “Entertainment Nation” exhibit.
Designed to explore American pop culture, the exhibit contains a whole host of left-wing buzzwords and ideas. For instance, a placard reportedly featured alongside a 1923 circus poster contains language about so-called “colonialism.”
Meanwhile, another placard reportedly describing early American entertainment accuses the U.S. of being steeped in “extraordinary violence.”
“One of the earliest defining traits of entertainment in the United States was extraordinary violence,” the placard reads.
The exhibit also reframes iconic American characters through a politically charged lens.
“The White title character’s relationship with Tonto resembled how the U.S. government imagined itself the world’s Lone Ranger,” the exhibit says about The Lone Ranger.
Even the exhibit’s description of Mickey Mouse is steeped in left-wing claptrap.
“Mickey challenged authority, but not everyone was in on the joke,” the exhibit says. “Mickey Mouse debuted as the deckhand ‘Steamboat Willie’ in 1928, amidst a rising anxiety felt by many that modern living and city life were eroding family and community ties and loosening moral codes.
“But the new character’s outsized facial features, white gloves, and trickster temperament were vestiges of longstanding traditions of blackface minstrelsy,” the exhibit continues.
Ginn told Fox News he’s “not hopeful” the Smithsonian can change without a “massive effort” to replace current staff with non-activists.
“You’re going to have to put in new people who are committed to scholarly standards and non-politicized educational programming,” he noted. “These people have bought into it, hook, line and sinker.”
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V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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