A social media post by US President Donald Trump sparked backlash for allegedly defending slavery, considered one of the darkest chapters in the US's history. On Monday, Trump criticized the Smithsonian Institutions' museums for highlighting "how bad Slavery was."
Many on social media were quick to interpret the 79-year-old's post as a defense of slavery, which was abolished in the US on December 18, 1865, under the 13th Amendment. Calling the Smithsonian "out of control," Trump said: “The Museums throughout Washington, but all over the Country are, essentially, the last remaining segment of ‘WOKE’.”
“The Smithsonian is OUT OF CONTROL, where everything discussed is how horrible our Country is, how bad Slavery was, and how unaccomplished the downtrodden have been — Nothing about Success, nothing about Brightness, nothing about the Future,” he added.
As soon as the post dropped, social media erupted with accusations that the President is trying to defend slavery. The president was widely criticized for allegedly "white washing" America's history.
"Trump is angry that the Smithsonian Museum talks about how bad slavery was, which is a crucial part of American history. He’s now sending his attorneys after the museum. This is what dictators have done throughout history. Wake up, America," Harry Sisson wrote.
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{{/usCountry}}“Trump says the Smithsonian is ‘out of control’ for discussing ‘how bad slavery was.’ Insane,” the account, Republican Against Trump, wrote.
"Trump is mad that the Smithsonian is talking about 'how bad slavery was." That's where we're at," popular YouTuber Brian Tyler Cohen wrote on X.
"Trump: All the Smithsonian does is “discuss how bad slavery was.” So now he wants to force them to discuss how “good” slavery was?" former GOP Congressman Joe Walsh wrote on X.
"why doesn't the Smithsonian talk more about how the upsides of slavery?" Aaron Rupar said.