The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History is facing renewed scrutiny over its ongoing exhibition, "Entertainment Nation," which opened in December 2022. The exhibit uses artifacts from music, film, television, theater, and sports to explore how popular culture has shaped American life.

A Fox News Digital review found that every member of the exhibit’s seven-person curatorial team has incorporated themes of racial injustice, gender inequality, sexuality, or other progressive social causes into their academic work, public commentary, or prior museum projects. The review also noted praise for communist-linked figures, alignment with progressive activist movements, and explicit statements connecting museum work to social justice.

The controversy gained national attention in July 2026 amid a congressional hearing scrutinizing the National Museum of American History and the release of a 162-page White House report documenting what the administration described as evidence of ideological bias across the Smithsonian.

John Troutman, the exhibit’s lead curator, told The Washington Post in 2023 that the project was intended to do more than present a conventional history of entertainment. He said it was not meant to serve as "a gallery that provides a history of entertainment," but rather to examine broader social movements reflected in popular culture.

Curator Kenneth Cohen authored "They Will Have Their Game" in 2017, a book examining how the development of sports in the United States "produced a sense of democracy while also reinforcing racial, gender, and class divisions," according to his publisher’s description.

The exhibit has drawn criticism for what some describe as "fringe or activist ideologies masquerading as history," fueling a broader debate about ideological influence in national museums.

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