The Trump administration has intensified its efforts to remove what it calls "woke content" from the Smithsonian Institution by publicly identifying specific artwork for potential censorship. The White House has now set its sights on a painting that depicts a migrant family crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, marking a significant escalation in the administration's cultural campaign.
On Thursday, the White House's official rapid response account on X shared a post criticizing a painting by artist Rigoberto A. Gonzalez titled "Refugees Crossing the Border Wall Into South Texas." The artwork portrays a family of four in Baroque style, showing two parents with a young boy and a baby positioned at a ladder leaning against the southern border wall. The piece was created as a finalist for the National Portrait Gallery's 2022 Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition.
The painting was displayed at the Smithsonian Museum from 2022 to 2023, according to the competition's official website. The White House social media team expressed particular displeasure with what they characterized as a "humanizing portrayal" of people whom the Trump administration has consistently criticized. In their post, they accused the artwork of "commemorating the act of illegally crossing the exclusionary border."
The administration's criticism was framed within President Trump's broader complaints about the Smithsonian Institution. "This is what President Trump means when he says the Smithsonian is OUT OF CONTROL," the White House post declared, directly quoting from a recent Truth Social post by the president. In that social media statement, Trump had lamented that the Smithsonian "overemphasizes negative aspects of America, such as how bad Slavery was."
The attack on Gonzalez's painting was part of a larger White House initiative announced Thursday. In an official press release, the administration listed the border-crossing artwork alongside other examples of what it considers "damaging proof" that the institution has fallen under the influence of progressive ideology. The release also criticized an American History Museum collection focused on LGBTQ history as another example of the Smithsonian's alleged "wokeness."
This development represents a significant moment in the ongoing cultural battles between the Trump administration and major American institutions. The targeting of specific artworks for potential censorship raises questions about artistic freedom and the role of government in determining what art should be displayed in publicly funded museums.
