The Worst of Woke, Courtesy of the Smithsonian

Greetings from the Swamp, quiet this last week in August and balmy rather than hot and humid. I’m in Baltimore for yet another memorial service, my fourth this summer, so, for a pick-me-up, I added a tour of the White House to my plans. I hadn’t seen the public rooms since the ’80s so I queued with a hundred or so fellow tourists for a self-guided amble. I’ll write about my visit soon.

I also visited four of the eight Smithsonian museums tagged for new, in-depth monitoring and redemption, according to a detailed, let’s-work-together August 12 letter from White House culture honchos to Smithsonian boss Lonnie Bunch. As a follow-up, on August 21, the White House released a raft of examples of Smithsonian race-baiting, fake history, DEI promotion, gender dysphoria ballyhoo, Hate America First ideology, and art that appalls in content — an expensive, commissioned portrait of the liar and fraud Dr. Fauci tops the list — and in quality. On August 19, President Trump tossed a Truth Social grenade at the Castle. “The Smithsonian is OUT OF CONTROL,” he wrote, “where everything discussed is how horrible the country is, how bad Slavery was. . . . Nothing about Success, nothing about Brightness, nothing about the Future.” And, as a grace note, “WOKE is BROKE.” Agreed.

About the Author

Brian T. Allen

Brian T. Allen is National Review’s art critic.

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Greetings from the Swamp, quiet this last week in August and balmy rather than hot and humid. I’m in Baltimore for yet another memorial service, my fourth this summer, so, for a pick-me-up, I added a tour of the White House to my plans. I hadn’t seen the public rooms since the ’80s so I queued with a hundred or so fellow tourists for a self-guided amble. I’ll write about my visit soon.

I also visited four of the eight Smithsonian museums tagged for new, in-depth monitoring and redemption, according to a detailed, let’s-work-together August 12 letter from White House culture honchos to Smithsonian boss Lonnie Bunch. As a follow-up, on August 21, the White House released a raft of examples of Smithsonian race-baiting, fake history, DEI promotion, gender dysphoria ballyhoo, Hate America First ideology, and art that appalls in content — an expensive, commissioned portrait of the liar and fraud Dr. Fauci tops the list — and in quality. On August 19, President Trump tossed a Truth Social grenade at the Castle. “The Smithsonian is OUT OF CONTROL,” he wrote, “where everything discussed is how horrible the country is, how bad Slavery was. . . . Nothing about Success, nothing about Brightness, nothing about the Future.” And, as a grace note, “WOKE is BROKE.” Agreed.