President Trump on Friday urged the Smithsonian to replace the “strange modernist” sculpture outside the National Museum of American History in Washington, DC, with a 30-foot statue of George Washington.
The proposed change is part of a broader push by Trump to elevate tributes to the nation’s first president as the country looks ahead to Washington’s 300th birthday.
“I’m asking for the Smithsonian to install the 11-foot Washington statue that was featured at the recent Freedom 250 Grand Prix Race in the Museum’s Flag Hall, and dedicate it this Constitution Day, September 17, 2026. Immediately design and display a five-year exhibition worthy of the Life, Sacrifice, and Contributions of George Washington. Then, as soon as it is ready, install a 30-foot Washington Colossus where ‘Infinity’ stands today,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“Replace a sculpture that says nothing about America with the man who, more than anyone else, says everything about America,” the president added. “This is how we should begin to honor George Washington in the lead-up to his 300th birthday in 2032.”
“Infinity,” the rotating abstract sculpture now on the site, was created by artist Jose de Rivera and dedicated in 1967.
According to the museum, it was the first modern artwork commissioned by the federal government for the National Mall through the Art and Architecture Program.
In another Truth Social post, Trump said the existing sculpture falls short of the message he believes a towering monument to the “Father of Our Country” would send.
“That strange modernist sculpture tells visitors nothing about America, inspires no one, and honors none of our Great American Heroes,” Trump wrote. “George Washington does. He is easily America’s Greatest Hero. Without him, our Country and our Freedoms wouldn’t exist.”
Trump also criticized the museum, saying it had “failed to give George Washington and our other Founding Fathers the celebration they deserve” during the year marking the 250th anniversary of American independence.
“Washington’s Heroic Crossing of the Delaware on December 25, 1776 — One of the greatest moments and turning points of the Revolution — is not even mentioned in the Museum,” the president said. “His Victory at Trenton, and the stories of the Americans who fought and died for our Independence, deserve far more attention.”
The demand came in the same week Smithsonian Institution Secretary Lonnie Bunch III announced his retirement, following tensions with the Trump administration over how the Smithsonian presents American history in the nation’s museums. “Under recently ended leadership, the Smithsonian created a ‘Center for Restorative History,’ and commissioned a ‘Decolonization Plan,’ to focus attention overwhelmingly on those who have been oppressed, but there is almost no attention paid to those who triumphed over great oppression, and against great odds,” Trump continued in his post.
“One current exhibit describes the period of 1492 to 1776, including Christopher Columbus’s discovery of the New World, and the European settlement of America, as the ‘Great Unsettling’ of the Continent.
“That tells you all you need to know about how twisted the thinking is today at the Smithsonian.”
Trump called for the Center for Restorative History to be replaced with a “Center for American Heroes.”
“Tell the stories of Americans who faced great challenges, overcame them, built great things, defended our Country, made America better, and helped our Nation more fully live up to our Founding Ideals,” he said. “That is a History worth teaching, because it is America’s story.
“Instead of focusing on ideological activism, the leaders of America’s taxpayer-funded, National History Museum should be focused on telling America’s story — fairly, accurately, and coherently — and there is no better person to start with than George Washington.”
