21 August 2025
On 21 August 2025, the White House published an article condemning a long list of exhibitions and works on display at the National Museum of American History (NMAH) that it deemed objectionable. Among the works mentioned is the cartoon “4th of July From the South Border” by American cartoonist Feggo (Felipe Galindo), dating from 1999. The cartoon shows a Mexican boy watching the 4th of July fireworks through a wall on the US-Mexican border.
Feggo’s work was displayed as part of the exhibition “Presente! A Latino History of the United States” at the Molina Family Latino Gallery at the NMAH, which houses the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Latino project (the institution that manages the NMAH). In the same article, the White House denounces the museum project and an “anti-American exhibition” that “defines Latino history as centuries of victimisation and exploitation” and characterises US history as rooted in “colonization”.
The exhibition, which was scheduled to run until November 2025, has closed its doors for the next nine months.
According to the Washington Post, the museum’s management received direct pressure from the US administration. The White House sent a letter to Lonnie G. Bunch III, secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, announcing that it would conduct a more thorough review of the exhibitions at eight of the institution’s museums to align them with the president’s directive to “celebrate American exceptionalism” and eliminate narratives that it deems controversial, according to the White House.
On 27 March 2025, Donald Trump issued an executive order dedicated to restoring “truth and reason in American history” by openly targeting the Smithsonian.
According to The New York Times, President Trump has stepped up his efforts to impose “a more positive view of American history” by taking steps to restrict the independence of the Smithsonian Institution, which he wants to transform into “a symbol of American inspiration and greatness.” His executive order asserts that the Smithsonian, in particular, has “fallen under the influence of a divisive, race-centred ideology” and promotes “narratives that portray American and Western values as inherently harmful and oppressive.”
Feggo and his wife Andrea Arroyo, an artist and member of Cartooning for Peace, have expressed grave concerns about the Trump administration’s recent statements and actions. Although cartoonist Feggo has received numerous messages of support, the White House’s condemnation of his work is part of a broader cultural battle that is creating a repressive and arbitrary climate, undermining fundamental freedoms as a whole and attacking the very foundations of the United States.
In the face of growing censorship in the United States, Cartooning for Peace offers its full support to Feggo and condemns the White House’s attacks on his cartoon and the closure of the exhibition.
Feggo’s cartoon will be on display at the International Cartoon Exhibition in Saint-Just-le-Martel from 27 September to 5 October 2025.
Sources :
https://www.whitehouse.gov/articles/2025/08/president-trump-is-right-about-the-smithsonian/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/2025/08/26/trump-targeted-art-smithsonian/
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/21/arts/design/smithsonian-trump.html
https://hyperallergic.com/1037811/smithsonian-latino-gallery-quietly-closes-for-nine-months/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/2025/09/04/trump-smithsonian-museum-order-bunch/
