The second Trump administration has been a dream for Christian nationalist pseudo-historian David Barton and his son Tim, who have had unprecedented influence over the administration's efforts to control how American history is presented at the federal level.
The Bartons, neither of whom have any historical training or accreditation, have built careers out of relentlessly misusing and misrepresenting American history to promote their own right-wing political agenda. They have also developed close ties to many in the Trump administration, through which they have shaped, among other things, the administration's attacks against the Smithsonian Institution.
On an episode of their WallBuilders radio program last week, Tim and his father celebrated the news that the White House is now threatening to withhold funding from the Smithsonian if the institution does not submit additional documentation amid the administration's review of its content and displays.
According to the Bartons, they were integral in bringing this about.
"This is one that is dear to our heart," Tim Barton gloated. "The White House warned the Smithsonian that if the museum did not submit more documentation to the administration to enable a review of its contents, funds may be withheld from the institution."
"What they said is, 'We want to know [the] chain of command. Who approved all this?'" he continued. "What they're asking is, who is accountable? Who's going to be responsible? Who gets held accountable for all of the nonsense. This is not a crazy request. Museums are supposed to keep record of who approved what, what areas, what displays, what wall mounts."
"The Smithsonian failed to tell them who put up some of the crazy stuff that is there," Tim Barton said. "And dad, you and I have gone through and reviewed several of the Smithsonians and there's some crazy stuff there."
"Yeah, I was going to point out that earlier in the year, the White House asked us to look at some of that," David Barton responded. "At that point, you were leading a tour of legislators in Washington, D.C. ... By the way, we love the American History Museum, the Smithsonian because of the artifacts, but not because of the way they present them. The way they present them is terrible. And so as the legislators went through, Tim, they came back to you and said, 'Oh man, this is terrible and this is bad.' And so you turned that over to the White House on how bad the stuff was, how misleading it was."
"You were right in the middle of that story," David celebrated.
"This is so encouraging that we actually have an administration saying, 'Let's tell the truth, let's stop this woke propaganda nonsense, let's tell the truth,'" Tim responded. "This is such good news and I'm so excited for what this could mean for the 250th celebration because this is part of what they're gearing it for; they want to make sure we're telling good stories for the 250th."
