Axelrod: Trump’s Review Of Smithsonian Exhibits Has A “Soviet Feel To It”
CNN chief political analyst David Axelrod criticized President Donald Trump’s executive order for an “internal review” of Smithsonian exhibitions. “I think when they talk about American exceptionalism in this document, part of what’s exceptional about America is that we are willing to reconcile ourselves with the past,” Axelrod said. “Yes, the founding fathers were flawed, and [slavery] was a horrible moral blind spot on their part. That’s horrifying to us today. They also had the foresight to create this extraordinary democracy, and we perfected generation after generation, partly by understanding our history and living with our history, you know. And the Germans, look at how they’ve handled the Holocaust. They don’t run from it. It is taught because they don’t want history to repeat itself. And it will if we allow it to be, as the professor says, whitewashed.”
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: I hate to refer to a cliche or an often, you know, quote or phrase, but, you know, if for those who, you know, don’t study the past or remember the past, you know, you’re doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past. The White House letter says, our goal is not to interfere with the day-to-day operations of creators or staff, but rather to support a broader vision of excellence that highlights historically accurate, uplifting, and inclusive portrayals of America’s heritage. I mean, they’ve already put out stuff about national parks. They want to review monuments and national parks to make sure there’s nothing that might offend anybody or be, you know, in any way negative about, you know, the behavior of Americans in the past. DAVID AXELROD: Yeah. Let’s also remember what the Civil War was about. I mean, the statues he wants to restore are people who are fighting to retain slavery. And that is just a historical fact. You know, this has just kind of a Soviet feel to it, a Stalinist feel to it that you just, you know, you take over cultural institutions and historical institutions and you try and rewrite history. But as you pointed out before, Anderson, this is a president who is rewriting history every day. And he believes that you can do that. You know, when crime is up, no crime is down. Things cost less, no things cost more. I mean, this goes on and on. And I think he feels as if he has the authority to impose his will. And the irony, as Professor Brooks said, is that in this instance, this is all around the 250th anniversary of our founding fathers declaring themselves free of a mad king. And you wonder what they would think coming back today and watching this.
