Story thread · 2 reports / 1 sources

Trump’s Smithsonian obsession driven by Christian nationalist 'historian'

rawstory.com · 13dShare

President Donald Trump's "Restoring Trust in the Smithsonian Institution" executive order, which requires disclaimer signs characterizing museum exhibits as "inaccurate" and anti-American, closely mirrors claims made by David Barton, a Christian nationalist activist and self-described historian, according to Popular Information's Judd Legum. "Despite having no degree in history, David Barton calls himself a historian," Legum explained. Historians repeatedly reject his work, and his 2012 Jefferson book was pulled from shelves after scholars claimed it contained distortions and false information, Politico reported . Trump's order and Barton's claims share similar themes according to Legum: downplaying slavery's severity, rehabilitating Christopher Columbus as an American hero, and asserting Christianity's influence on the founding fathers. Additionally, Legum referenced the "WallBuilders Show," a daily podcast by Tim Barton, David Barton & Rick Green. Specifically, he noted an episode in

First report: ‘Fake historian’ exposed as mastermind behind Trump’s Smithsonian obsession: report — rawstory.com, 13d