‘CBS Mornings’: Tony Dokoupil Says He Backs Trump’s Controversial Smithsonian Revamp

Tony Dokoupil agrees with President Donald Trump that the Smithsonian museums’ exhibits should be revamped.

“American history shouldn’t be a thing of reverence. The country is not above critique,” Dokoupil said of Trump’s controversial desire to have the museums focus on positive aspects of American history — while downplaying darker topics such as slavery — on the Wednesday, August 20, episode of CBS Mornings. “But we shouldn’t look at our history with contempt, either. And there is some room for correction back toward the middle.”

Dokoupil went on to state that Trump’s views match the Smithsonian’s current mission statement. “The mission of the Smithsonian is to forge a shared history, a shared future, not just context, but hope to lead the country and communities together. That’s essentially the same language that Donald Trump is offering here,” he said. “And I do think there’s room to say, in American history, what you are describing, that process of a journey toward greatness is very real, and we all have something to be incredibly proud of.”

The host continued, “If you ask someone, ‘Is the world and its people better off because of the existence of America and its people?’ To me, the answer is unquestionably yes. And I think people walking in the Smithsonian — when they walk out of it, they should get some sense of that.”

WATCH: CBS’s Tony Dokoupil delivers a MASSIVE reality check to those saying President Trump and others want to censor American history by calling on museums like the Smithsonian to focus more on our country’s greatness.

Co-host Gayle King and Vlad Duthiers strongly disagreed,… pic.twitter.com/Dawxl2QUTA

— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) August 20, 2025

CBS News’ Vladimir Duthiers disagreed, stating, “We shouldn’t whitewash who we are and where we came from. And so, that conversation needs to continuously happen so that we continuously get better.”

Gayle King, for her part, said she hopes the review will be handled by “historians and experts who know exactly what it means, ’cause I don’t think there’s been an overcorrection. I think it’s just putting out the history that’s all part of who we are.”

Dokoupil wrapped up the discussion by calling their conversation “so healthy and so good,” adding, “We’re having it on the 250th anniversary of the country. It’s wonderful.”

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Earlier this month, the White House announced plans to launch a review of the Washington D.C. museum chain in honor of the country’s milestone 250th anniversary in July 2026. “This initiative aims to ensure alignment with the President’s directive to celebrate American exceptionalism, remove divisive or partisan narratives, and restore confidence in our shared cultural institutions,” read an August 12 letter to Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III.

Trump later called the museums “the last remaining segment of ‘WOKE'” and “OUT OF CONTROL” in a Tuesday, August 19, Truth Social post. “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 wrote. “We are not going to allow this to happen, and I have instructed my attorneys to go through the Museums, and start the exact same process that has been done with Colleges and Universities where tremendous progress has been made.”

He continued, “This Country cannot be WOKE, because WOKE IS BROKE. We have the ‘HOTTEST’ Country in the World, and we want people to talk about it, including in our Museums.”

CBS Mornings, Weekdays, 7a/6c, CBS