Trump is already rewriting history of his presidency – and getting away with it | Opinion
I don't know why Republicans and President Donald Trump are so frightened by diversity and historical accuracy. But it's clear that they are.
President Donald Trump and Republican leaders are openly editing history as it is written in the name of avoiding anything “woke” too scary to their snowflake sensibilities, and everyone should be concerned.
On May 8, the Trump administration abruptly fired Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden via email. Hayden, who was nominated in 2016 by then-President Barack Obama and was supposed to serve a 10-year term, was the first woman and first Black American to hold the position.
No explanation was given in the email correspondence, but it doesn’t take a female rocket scientist to understand that she was deemed “too woke” for the Republican vision of the United States. When asked about Hayden’s firing, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the administration felt she “did not fit the needs of the American people.”
“There were quite concerning things that she had done at the Library of Congress in the pursuit of DEI, and putting inappropriate books in the library for children,” Leavitt said.
It’s probably important to note that the Library of Congress doesn’t actually lend out books to children.
Real quick: The Library of Congress isn't typically used as a public library. Its primary function is to provide a source of research, and it is specifically there to offer a variety of sources.
The Trump administration is trying its hardest to make sure the only U.S. history those who come after us learn is that which comes from a White male perspective. Hayden’s firing is just the latest instance of how Trump is targeting diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives to ensure that our history as a country is rewritten.
Library of Congress exists to promote diversity of thought
Hayden was responsible for bringing more works from people of color into the Library of Congress – something that clearly angered the Trump administration and its loyal supporters.
“The current #LibrarianOfCongress Carla Hayden is woke, anti-Trump, and promotes trans-ing kids,” a conservative group known as the American Accountability Foundation posted on X (formerly Twitter) hours prior to Hayden’s firing. “It’s time to get her OUT and hire a new guy for the job!”
Of course, there’s no proof that Hayden was doing any of this. All she was doing, it seems, is making sure the world’s largest library reflected the rich history of the United States from all viewpoints, not just the viewpoints of the people who have held power for the entirety of our nation’s history.
Imagine, for example, if Obama mandated she only archive liberal documents.
The Library of Congress website describes her job is "to engage, inspire and inform Congress and the American people with a universal and enduring source of knowledge and creativity." It seems like she was doing just that – and managed to scare Republicans.
Trump has been trying to erase 'scary' woke ideas this whole time
Hayden’s firing isn’t the only instance of Trump going after educational initiatives deemed “too woke.”
On May 1, Trump signed an executive order attempting to defund PBS and NPR. In the order, he says that “neither entity presents a fair, accurate, or unbiased portrayal of current events.”
Five days later, it was announced that the Department of Education ended a federal grant for funding children’s games and educational television shows.
National Park Service websites have also been revamped in the Trump era. In February, the Stonewall National Monument website removed references to transgender individuals. In April, the agency removed information on Harriet Tubman and softened language about slavery on the webpage for the Underground Railroad.
After receiving backlash from news organizations and the public, the edits were reversed.
Trump is also going after the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Of course, none of this is new.
For years, Republican lawmakers have been moving across the country to restrict access to knowledge that challenges the status quo. At the state level, Republicans have been banning books in school libraries. A few years ago, they took aim at critical race theory (CRT), a legal school of thought that Republicans began using to describe any conversations about race happening in schools.
It's one thing for Trump to transform the governmental system. The fact that he is going after cultural and historical institutions is a sign that his final objective is to overhaul the United States in his image and in the Republican notion that historical facts and representation are scary.
I want to believe that the truth will prevail and that history will remember Trump accurately. But if he gets his way, the United States will forget its history, and Republicans will succeed in making themselves feel better about how we got here.
Follow Paste BN columnist Sara Pequeño on X, formerly Twitter: @sara__pequeno