Donald Trump ignited debate on a topic that nobody expected or probably wanted to be scrutinized. But here we are, discussing the very foundation and concept of the museum. Recently, Fox News contributor Clay Travis joined the debate as he went on a bizarre rant, likening the history of slavery to plane crashes while siding with Trump’s unhinged attacks on the Smithsonian Institution.
Last week, Trump ranted about how museums in the United States focus excessively on “how bad slavery was,” while implying that it needs to be changed from hereon.
Trump wrote in his social media post, “The Smithsonian is OUT OF CONTROL, where 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.”
NEWS: Trump says the Smithsonian is “WOKE” and “OUT OF CONTROL” because they talk about “how bad slavery was,” and says he has instructed his attorneys to stop this at museums in D.C. pic.twitter.com/APRseFcnfM
— MeidasTouch (@MeidasTouch) August 19, 2025
While speaking on his show Media Buzz on Sunday, Fox News Host Howard Kurtz pointed out that Trump “had to know that using that phrase about slavery would spark an enormous backlash.”
Clay Travis supported Trump’s point of view as he said, “I think he’s right.”
The conservative guest highlighted Trump’s desire that the museums should reflect their country’s “soaring aspirations and goals” instead of “the things that America has done wrong.”
And then, he made a bizarre comparison between slavery and plane crashes.
Clay Travis said: “Look, I took my son to the Smithsonian, I think the Air and Space Museum. They do a fabulous job of putting on the history of air and space. I didn’t see a single report inside the Air and Space Museum about plane crashes and the thousands of people who have died in them.”
“That doesn’t mean that they don’t exist. That doesn’t mean that they aren’t a substantial part of history of space and exploration and plane travel,” he added.
Talking Ukraine-Russia, the Smithsonian, Epstein, DC crime & more this morning with @HowardKurtz on Media Buzz. Like this show because there’s lots of room to talk. Enjoy: pic.twitter.com/SFKKFHtpEg
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) August 24, 2025
Travis mentioned that the Air and Space Museum is an “aspirational story” which makes him feel “incredibly excited about the future.”
“I think that’s what President Trump wants the story of other Smithsonians [museums] to be like,” he further stated.
Clay Travis’s comparison of slavery to plane crashes — not worth commemorating in museums — tells you all you need to know about these people. They think human trafficking, forced breeding and kidnapping were just accidents, rather than intentional policy…
— Tim Wise (@timjacobwise) August 24, 2025
Clay Travis’s statement feels bizarre as he compared aviation disasters to the country’s shameful history spanning centuries, where Black people were forcibly enslaved. Moreover, it seems that he lacked adequate research because Air and Space Museum features reports and exhibits of several aviation tragedies, including the visuals of damage on the Airbus A320-214 that was involved in the crash known as the Miracle on the Hudson. As per the official website of the Air and Space Museum, “the aircraft is on view at the Carolinas Aviation Museum.” And this is just one of the many examples.
MAGA has, however, made up its mind that the museums are too ‘woke’ and Trump has promised to ‘root them out’.
Trump wrote in a post, “The Museums throughout Washington, but all over the Country are, essentially, the last remaining segment of ‘WOKE’.”
In a statement to NPR, the White House said, “President Trump will explore all options and avenues to get the Woke out of the Smithsonian and hold them accountable. He will start with the Smithsonian and then go from there.”
