Trump Action Archive

Supporting reports

• Hegseth reposts segment endorsing pastor with anti-women views — Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth reposted on his personal account a CNN segment about pastor Doug Wilson, with whom Hegseth is affiliated, using the slogan "All of Christ for All of Life"—a phrase promoting Christian nationalism across all aspects of society including government. The original report noted Wilson's position that women should not have the right to vote. Critics interpreted the repost as reflecting Hegseth's own record on feminism and undermining commitments he made to Senator Joni Ernst regarding women in uniform.
• Pentagon posts biblically-themed recruitment video with Psalms text — The Pentagon, under Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, posted a recruitment video on X featuring paratroopers and combat scenes accompanied by text from the Book of Psalms ("I pursued my enemies and overtook them / I did not turn back till they were destroyed"). The video carried the message "We Are One Nation Under God." Veterans and military experts report the move is dividing military ranks and reflects Hegseth's effort to infuse ultra-conservative Christian nationalism into Pentagon operations and messaging.

Supporting reports

• Trump announces Kennedy Center Honors recipients without advance notice — President Trump announced via social media post at 7:30 a.m. on August 12, 2025, that Kennedy Center Honors recipients would be announced the following day. In the same post, he suggested that the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts would soon be renamed the "TRUMP/KENNEDY CENTER." The announcement caught the Kennedy Center staff entirely off guard, according to NPR reporting. The post appeared designed to redirect public attention from other controversies.
• White House issues Kennedy Center Honors announcement — The White House issued a release announcing the 2025 Kennedy Center Honors honorees: George Strait, Michael Crawford, Sylvester Stallone, Gloria Gaynor, and KISS. The announcement describes each honoree's career achievements and cultural impact. The gala is scheduled for December 2025. This is a ceremonial announcement with no policy directives or institutional changes.

Supporting reports

• White House sends letter to Smithsonian Institution directing cultural review — The Trump administration sent a letter to Dr. Lonnie Bunch, secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, informing him of an intent to review museum exhibitions, curatorial processes, planning, use of collections, and artist grants 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." The review will focus on eight museums including the National Museum of African-American History and Culture, the National Museum of the American Indian, and the Hirshhorn Museum. The review is being led by Trump's Florida criminal defense attorney, who joined from property law and convinced Trump to sign an executive order placing her in charge after she objected to certain exhibits. Russell Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget and key Project 2025 author, is also on the three-person team.
• Trump's Smithsonian review team wrote to Smithsonian secretary demanding alignment with presidential directive — On August 12, 2025, Trump's three-person Smithsonian review team, including Florida criminal defense attorney Lindsey Halligan and Russell Vought (director of the Office of Management and Budget), wrote to Dr. Lonnie Bunch, secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, informing him they intended to review museum exhibitions, curatorial processes, planning, use of collections, and artists' grants. The team stated they would ensure exhibitions align "with the president's directive to celebrate American exceptionalism, remove divisive or partisan narratives, and restore confidence in our shared cultural institutions." The review targeted eight major Smithsonian museums including the National Museum of African American History and Culture and the National Museum of the American Indian.