President Donald Trump issued a new executive order on Friday demanding warning signs be placed outside the Smithsonian Museum of American History.
The order, which is meant to alert visitors that the institution has been taken over by liberal "ideological capture" and expresses "inaccurate" views of American history that the Trump administration doesn't endorse, earned instant fury from commenters on social media.
"Trump massively escalates against the Smithsonian," wrote New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman.
"Trump just ordered warning signs and exhibits to be installed outside the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History to alert the public that the museum does not, in his view, accurately reflect American history," wrote MS NOW "Weeknight" executive producer Kyle Griffin. "For the record: It does."
"This is one of the dumbest and most bizarre Executive Orders we have ever read," wrote Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-NM). "Clearly, this Administration knows they are trying to commit Executive overreach over our nation’s independent cultural institutions. This EO is a clear political overreach, driven by an ideological agenda to rewrite American history. Our Smithsonian institutions do not belong to the President, but to the American people and so does our nation’s history."
"This EO should be titled: 'Time to destroy the Smithsonian just like I did the Kennedy Center,'" wrote Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR).
"This Smithsonian executive order is amazingly weak and petulant," wrote Mother Jones reporter Dan Friedman. "Trump can't or won't order the Smithsonian American History Museum to change their exhibits to push the propaganda he wants, so he's telling NPS to post signs outside attacking the museum."
"I thought electing Trump meant no more trigger warnings and safe spaces," wrote independent journalist Mike Rothschild.
"Trump’s absurdities are boundless," wrote retired Missouri State University president Mike Nietzel.