The Leftist media found their latest 'scandal' when President Trump accused the Smithsonian museum of focusing too much on how "bad slavery was." Democratic media outlets were quick to accuse Trump of believing that there must be GOOD aspects of slavery. But does anybody ACTUALLY believe that what Trump was saying? Glenn and Stu go through the critical context of what Trump was talking about while blasting the media for purposefully misleading the public with their biased spin.

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: You know, it's one thing to get a story wrong.

It's one thing to misunderstand, or whatever. But it's -- it's an entirely other thing to intentionally take things out of context.

Intentionally leave things off the table.

Intentionally paint a picture, that you know is not true.

The Smithsonian story, that came out yesterday. That -- this is prime example of that.

STU: Yes. This one really annoys me. And this is a certain thing that mainstream media does a lot, particularly with Donald Trump.

In that, they -- it's -- a certain form of resistance journalism, if you will.

Where they don't come out and say, Donald Trump believes slavery is good. That's not the headline.

The headline today was -- this is the New York Times. Trump says Smithsonian focuses too much on, quote, how bad slavery was. End quote.

Now, that headline is very specifically crafted to present --

GLENN: Uh-huh.

STU: A couple of thoughts in your head. Right?

You're supposed to think, wait a minute. Trump thinks -- the Smithsonian is focusing too much on how bad slavery is.

Well, what he must mean is, he thinks it's good. There were good aspects of it --

GLENN: It wasn't as bad. It wasn't as bad as everything.

STU: Right. Like he's making some excuse for the horrors of slavery.

And, of course, if he did do that, it would be a story. Right? Like, it would be a story if Donald Trump came out and said, you know what, slavery actually wasn't that bad. It was a pretty good. That's a real story. Of course, he didn't say anything like that.

And we know that -- you know, if you have a couple of brain cells, you know this for multiple reasons.

Number one: You might note, that politicians don't say things like that.

Nobody says things like that.

GLENN: But he says everything!

He just says it.

GLENN: Oh, that's right.

He's the worst guy in the world.

Of course, that's the headline that's designed to lead that horse to water.

That resistance warrior who already believes everything terrible about Donald Trump. This is another thing for them to make them hate him more. Because they're the only people who would -- could possibly believe the spin you're getting from the Times. They're -- that water. They're the ones that will drink after they're led to that water. Right?

Those people are the targets. We know that even if politicians believed something like that.

Which, of course, most people don't. Almost no one does.

But even if a politician did believe that, they don't just blurt it out. That's not the type of thing people do.

So you're supposed to think, in the parentheses of your mind.

You're supposed to say, oh, well.

He just let that one slip out.

He does believe it. He normally wouldn't say this, but he let it slip out.

Another reason, you should obviously know this spin is wrong.

Donald Trump has said slavery is bad over and over and over and over and over again, like all other human beings in 2025, right? He said it over and over and over again. Now, in parentheses, you're supposed to think, all those times were false. So he was lying all the other times, but this one time he let the truth slip out, which is that he actually thinks slavery is not that bad.

Now, both of those things are insane to believe. But of course, it's not the main thing that should convince you.

It's the context of how he was talking about this. He wasn't saying that slavery wasn't bad. What was -- what -- he was saying, quite clearly was, the Smithsonian, an American institution, was focusing too much on the negatives about our history. Rather than the positives of our history.

And he -- we should instead, have more focus on the positives. We know this, because he actually said it! He said, quote.

His complaint was, nothing about success. Nothing about brightness. Nothing about the future.

In other words, this American institution should talk a little bit more positively about America.

Not erase everything negative about America.

It's like, if you wanted to -- you know, the -- the new England patriots Hall of Fame museum.

And every display was about Eli Manning and Nick Foles. It's like, yeah. They did have a couple of Super Bowl losses. Sure, that's part of their story. But if you looked at it. And everything was about the Eagles and the Giants winning those games, you would have no idea, that they had a dynasty in there. Right?

Like that they're one of the best football teams of all time. You would totally lose that.

And that's it real story of America. I know you focus on that, Glenn. Because you in your museum. Have a lot of things that are bad about your history.

GLENN: No, I collect -- David Barton has collected so much of the good stuff, and I collect the dark stuff. Because if you don't -- if we don't teach our kids, that these dark things happened in this country, two things happen: One, they don't believe us, on the good things.

When they hear those dark things, and they didn't come from us. They just automatically think, well, you don't -- you're lying to me. You never told me about any of this stuff.

STU: Right.

GLENN: So you have to tell the worst parts of it. You have to.

The second reason it is really important is if you don't teach that, you will repeat it!

STU: Uh-huh.

GLENN: Even if you teach it, we generally repeat it.

But you have a better chance, if you can teach it -- you know, history -- here's the problem.

The Smithsonian, and everybody else, is trying to make history about now.

Right now. What does this mean, right now?

I'm going to judge it through the eyes of right now. Well, history is about the past.

It's about the past.

How did people think back then?

Why did they think that way, back then?

Who fought against that, at that time?

What was the real argument?

I mean, there are people now, scholars. Who will tell you, that Frederick Douglass never -- never said a good word about the Constitution.

Well, that's just absolutely dishonest.

STU: Uh-huh.

GLENN: Frederick Douglass was a guy who said the Constitution was a slave document.

And then he was told, by, I can't remember who.

He was told by. Because we have the book at the library, at our museum.

He was told, read the Unconstitutionality of Slavery. When he read that and then went back and read the Constitution in that light, he was like, oh, my gosh. This is the greatest freedom document of all time. But people want now in academia and in our museums, they want to say, no! Because they're trying -- their goal is to get rid of the Constitution. My goal is to make sure we don't make these same kinds of mistakes again. I want to know the truth.

Let me be the judge. Tell me the good and the bad.

Tell me honest history.

That's what I want to know.

And they don't do that. I was up at the portrait gallery.

Tania and I had to go to the White House for something.

Oh, it was the interview.

And so we had a couple of hours before the interview with Donald Trump.

And so we went to the national port rat gallery.

And now -- Stu, tell me what you think might be in the National Portrait Gallery.

STU: I would maybe guess that they're portraits of important figures in American history.

GLENN: Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Portraits. Okay.
First of all, it was the dirtiest, most filthy museum I have been in. It was filthy!

It's like, I mean, we walked in. I thought we were walking into some sort of employee door. Honest to God. You were with me, weren't you, Jason?

JASON: Yeah.

GLENN: It was like we walked in like the back door. I really thought we were in the wrong place because it was filthy. Nope. That was the front door. So we get in, and we start seeing. And there's portraits. And they've got some really great art.

But you start to notice things like, wait a minute.

This is the national portrait gallery.

Why do you have a 1970's girls swinger bicycle with Cuban flags and stickers of Che on it?

What --

STU: What.

GLENN: What is that all about? Okay. And there was a good portion of the portrait gallery that was like that.

They had one room. And if you've ever been to like a science museum. And they have a big dinosaur.

You know, and they have all the bones up there.

STU: Yeah.

GLENN: Okay. It was about that size.

And correct me from I'm describing this incorrectly, Jason.

You remember it.

It was in the last room. This big, huge gallery. And it was -- it was -- it looked like bones.

Like a vertebra. Okay? And it came out. It was across most of the room. Probably 70 percent of the room had this in the center of it. Agreed with that, Jason?

JASON: Yeah. Perfect.

GLENN: And it was bronze or gold or something.

And they were fists. Well, what are those fists? That was the black power fist, given at the 68 Mexico City Olympics. Okay?

Black power.

A, what did that cost us.

What did that cost us to install.

And what does that say?

What is that?

Again, completely for no reason.

You want to do a deal where you're talking about, for instance, not maybe in the portrait gallery.

But you're doing an exhibit on pushback, on rebellions, on people who have moved the civil rights forward.

Whatever it is. That's where that belongs.

But it seems as though everything is telling us, it's a bad nation. And communism is neat!

This is our government's pay -- our tax dollars pay for this museum. People come from all over the world, to learn about America!

And all they hear about America is, we're a bad place. And communism is neat.


What the hell is that?

That all should be -- I mean, I would -- I would give my right arm to be on the counsel of the art museum. It would drive them out of their minds.


Out of the art museums.

And the Smithsonian. I would give my right arm. And maybe part of my left arm, to be able to do that.

Because it's everywhere. It's everywhere.

And I'm a guy who wants to tell the dark side of America. But that's like if I said to you. I want to tell the good side of America.

We meet the Nazis suspect so every museum, the point of every museum, always led you back to, we built the Nazis!

Because of the -- we -- we broke the back of the Nazis, because the greatest American generation. That's one story of America.

That's not the story of America!

That's one story.

You want to tell slavery, tell both sides of slavery.

Not just the horrors of slavery.

But the miracle of those who were white. Who stood up, and tried to stop it!

Tell the story about how our Founders sent out an armada. This was 18- -- early 1800s.

We sent out an armada. Because we stopped the slave trade in America.

We said, there's no more slave trade. If you're born here, then that's fine.

But it was a compromise.

It was a progressive move. Take it a little bit at a time.

And so what they did, because the slave trade was still going on.

We -- our Navy sent ships off the coast of Africa.

And they were there for -- I don't want to say. Because I will get this wrong.

Somebody fact-check me.

But a long time.

And all they were doing was, if there were slave ships that were coming out.

They would turn around and say, go back to Africa. Okay?

Do you even know that story?

Do you know the story about our Pilgrims, arresting the captain.

Our Pilgrims, arresting the captain of a slave ship. And then taking up a collection amongst themselves, restocking that ship, with -- with more food, cleaning it up, taking everybody out of chains, hiring a new captain with their poor people. With their money!

And sending them back home to Africa. Do you know that story? Why? Why isn't our museum telling that story? I absolutely want the story of -- of slavery told. But I want it to be told in context.

And it's not the story of America!

It is one of the stories of America. That thank God, we fought -- we're the only country en masse. Where one race of people fought and tied for the freedom of the -- of another race of people.

We're the only ones!

So please. Give it a rest. So dishonest. So dishonest.