Smithsonians Shutter till 2021

The Smithsonian Museums and the National Zoo in DC are closing this weekend due to the pandemic. In the past, these museums were open on Thanksgiving Day. Now they will remain shuttered until the spring at least.

So what will happen during the closure? Updating old displays and adding new ones, of course.

One exhibition that is direly in need of updating is the 20-year old American Presidency: A Glorious Burden.

American Presidency explores the personal and public acts of the 45 men who have served as the leader of the free world. Even before Joe Biden takes office, there is one glaring oversight to #45 — his end date of 2021. Perhaps they are waiting for the votes to be certified – something that will be done before the end of the year.

When I dived deeper into the American President exhibition, there was another glaring omission. The exhibit for Impeachment states that two presidents have been impeached and acquitted.

Impeachment exhibit in the American Presidency exhibition at the Smithsonian American History Museum in Washington, DC

The exhibit details Watergate and the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal, but no mention of impeachment of Donald J. Trump. I hope the White House did not use a heavy hand in this omission. At any rate, with only eleven weeks until the Inauguration, the Smithsonian will have plenty of time to add the current president as well as update the chronological list of US Presidents.