Image Over Truth: How Trump’s Erasure of History Mirrors China’s Censorship

Photo via National Park Service

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Despite naming the end of federal censorship as one of its primary goals, the Trump administration has repeatedly fought to censor knowledge of the United States’ history. In his pursuit to return America to its alleged former greatness, Trump stated his devotion to preserving First Amendment rights, such as free speech. However, he contradicts these efforts time and time again with his own acts of state censorship. 

Most recently, he has removed information about American history in national parks. Although Trump has often been critical of China, his acts of state censorship mirror China’s own historical censorship.

Erasure of History Masked as Patriotism

Trump’s program, “Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling,” appears on the surface as an effort to tell the truth about America’s history; however, it would ultimately conceal the unfortunate realities of U.S. history because they fail to “ennoble” children’s understanding of the country. According to Greg Gutfeld, a FOX News Anchor, these changes were implemented in order to enforce an education system that does not teach children “to hate our country.” Nevertheless,  teachers in some areas have been told that they cannot teach specific subjects. As a result, rather than providing the full truth, the program censored certain topics in order to preserve a positive picture of America. 

Similarly, the erasure of history has extended to national parks, contradicting Trump’s goal of making America beautiful again by improving them. While he apparently strives to improve the recreational experience of national parks, he eliminates a major part of that experience. He implemented executive orders that remove or censor information and exhibits discussing the history of slavery, civil rights, the treatment of Indigenous peoples, and other topics integral to American history. 

For Independence National Historic Park in Philadelphia, this meant removing explanatory panels about George and Martha Washington having owned slaves. At Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail in Alabama, 80 items about the civil rights movement have been flagged for removal. Trump’s actions are rooted in his desire to promote ignorant patriotism; he says anything that “inappropriately disparage Americans, past or living,” will be removed. He seems to believe that the negatives of history cannot coexist with the positives, so he ignores them. These efforts come as a result of his overall goal to restore “truth and sanity to American history.” 

Is China the Bad Guy or the Blueprint?

In line with his general negative rhetoric about China, Trump once said that “China is neither an ally or a friend.” However, his actions toward censorship emulate that of China when it comes to not accepting an unflattering history. The leader of China, Xi Jinping, ramped up his efforts to limit accounts of the cultural revolution, an era characterized by the violent eradication of capitalism and widespread chaos. He is reportedly worried that “historical nihilism” will produce an unfavorable depiction and existential threat to the Communist party. 

As a result, high school education about the Cultural Revolution is limited in China and the only national heritage spot devoted to it was closed. Younger generations experience an idealized nostalgia for a violent period they never experienced, including themed restaurants, re-enactments, and costumes, reflecting their lack of true understanding of the time. 

Although Trump has expressed strong opinions about China, he did warn Americans of his desire to replicate Xi Jinping’s dictatorship in terms of abolishment of presidential term limits, saying the United States could one day “give it a shot.” The recent development of censorship in national parks indicates he was not lying when he said “I’ve always had a very good relationship with President Xi,” as he is moving to replicate him.

In any case, both leaders are changing education and removing traces of history in public spaces in order to protect the image of the state. In China, this has not only limited people’s access to an honest understanding of their country’s history, but also caused them to romanticize the Cultural Revolution. With Trump’s most recent eradication of history in national parks, America is on the same track as China by heading toward a glorification of history, rather than an accurate awareness of it. 

The beautification of America for Trump means stamping out reminders of the country’s ugly past. While many know that China is a censorship state, is America ready to accept that it is not much different?

History is meant to be learned from. It serves as an account of past successes, as well as past mistakes. Deliberately choosing to ignore it, in favor of boosting the ego of America and its leaders, is a mistake that carries with it the threat of regression. Trump seems to desire regression, with his slogan to “make America great again” implying that the America of the past is something to reclaim; however, this is unwise. It will be an embarrassing stain on United States history that Americans of the future certainly will want to forget because it means moving backward instead of forward.

Ultimately, Trump contradicts himself in his desire to “Make America Great Again” while censoring history, raising a few questions. If he is trying to reclaim America’s former greatness, why would he want to censor history? If America was better in the past, would he not want to boast about history? And finally, if he wants to cover up history, was America ever great? Perhaps he does want to quietly return to this ugly past, or he simply wants to make America appear nobler than it is in the name of patriotism. Whatever his motives, it is necessary to question his blatant censorship.

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This article was edited by Samantha Morales.