Trump fires director of Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery for alleged promotion
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump announced in a May 30 Truth Society post that he fired Kim Sajet from the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery.
“At the request and advice of many people, I terminated Kim Sajet's employment as director of the National Portrait Gallery,” Trump wrote in his post, adding: “She is a highly partisan figure and a staunch supporter of Dei, which is completely unsuitable for her position.” He refers to diversity, equity and inclusion.
“Her substitute will be named soon,” Trump wrote. “Thank you for your attention on this matter!”
According to its website, the U.S. Congress established the National Portrait Gallery in 1962 to showcase portraits of major contributors in the United States of “people’s history, development, and culture.” It has an exhibition that includes portraits of the US president.
Sajet was appointed as a director in 2013 during the Obama administration. She was appointed by then-Smithsonian Wayne Clough and became the first woman to take on the role. Prior to her role as director, she was the president and CEO of the Pennsylvania Historical Society.
February 10, 2023; Washington, DC, United States; Mayor Robert H. Conley, left, Nicholas W. Ujobai, right, board of directors of the National Portrait Gallery, ceremony ribbon cutting to introduce the National Portrait Gallery in 1865 in Washington, DC, announced on Friday, February 10, 2023 at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC, on Friday, February 10, 2023. This historic work comes from the Hartley Dodge Foundation. The National Portrait Gallery of the Long-term Loan for Dodge Foundation, whose founder Geraldine Rockefeller Dodge obtained the painting from his family in the 1930s. Mandatory Credit: Jack Gruber-USA
Sajet told Guardian in 2024 that the gallery tried not to editorial when tagging portrait tags.
“When we talk about people, we try very hard to be privately grasped. Everyone has an opinion on the president of the United States, good, bad and indifference. We hear all the noises. But usually I think we've done a great job.”
This article originally appeared in United States Today: Trump, Kim Sajet, director of National Portrait Gallery
