Trump is Weaponizing the US Holocaust Museum

Why? To cover up ICE atrocities

As ICE and Border Patrol agents flood American streets with toxic gas, bullets, and psychological terror, the current regime wants us to deny our own eyes. However, the murder of Alex Pretti snatched the “violent radical left terrorism” storyline right out of Trump’s bruised hands and turned his own staunch supporters (NRA, anyone?) against him.

At risk of losing complete control of the narrative, Trump whipped out a defensive wildcard: a counterpoint condemnation from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM or The Museum).

Comparisons between Trump & Co. and the Nazis emerged when he launched his 2015 presidential campaign. Now, in his second term, the comparisons escalated into outright allegations. So when Minnesota Governor Tim Walz referenced Anne Frank’s Diary during a press conference while discussing ICE’s presence in the city, it wasn’t groundbreaking.

And yet, Walz’s comparison drew a sharp and uncharacteristic rebuttal from the USHMM:

There are many points of this short post worth critiquing. Most jarring, however, is the accusations of “false equivalencies to [Anne’s] experience.” The hypocrisy is stark, as the museum’s own mission is to teach “the dangers of unchecked hatred.” Moreover, the statement depreciates ICE’s fatal violence in Minneapolis to mere “tensions.”

USHMM’s self-debilitating interference quietly outs the Trump regime’s underground operation to co-opt our most vaunted American institutions.

How can the Trump administration infiltrate the USHMM? Through political appointees.

The Museum is an independent branch of the US government run by a governing body called “The Council.” Political appointees hold a majority of Council positions alongside a small rap of Senate and House representatives.

After his inauguration, Trump got to work. After prematurely firing Biden’s appointees, Trump 2.0 announced his unhinged and blindly loyal presidential picks. Sid Rosenberg is a right-wing podcast host who abhorrently quipped that Zohran Mamdani “would probably cheer” at another 9/11-style terrorist attack and outrageously referred to Black female athletes as “animals.” Siggy Flicker is a controversial and antagonistic former Real Housewife whose stepson was arrested on January 6th insurrection charges (pre-Trump pardon). Alex Witcoff (allegedly) tried to solicit money from Qatar while his father, Steve Witcoff, was in Doha negotiating the October 7th hostages’ release.

The effects of Trump’s influence — loudly wrong, corrupt, and hypocritical — were almost immediate. On September 11th, the Museum published its annual commemorative statement… dedicated not only to the victims from the day, but also to the recently slain Charlie Kirk. Moreover, the observance remarked that Kirk’s murder demonstrated the need for the “values of democracy, tolerance, and the dignity of every individual” that the Holocaust’s legacy teaches.

Juxtapose the 9/11 statement to January 27th’s scathing and pointed address on Holocaust Remembrance Day:

Their commemoration was a whiplash word salad. The Museum reinforced that the Holocaust is exclusively for Jewish victims, only to then acknowledge the “millions of others” who were also “targeted for racial or political reasons.” Of course, this framing is historically inaccurate — the Nazis aimed to eliminate anyone who did not fit into their “Aryan” race. Jewish people were the number one target, yes, but a series of other racial, political, sexual, and class groups followed closely behind. Ultimately, their persecution is intrinsically woven into this genocide.

The Museum contends that “abuse and exploitation of Holocaust memory have become alarmingly commonplace,” days after downplaying and disrespecting the victims of ICE violence in Minnesota. Its UK counterpart, the Holocaust Educational Trust, issued a supportive statement, decrying modern-day comparisons to the Holocaust and the inclusion of the Nazis’ other victims:

So, what is the message here? Do not use the knowledge we share for atrocity prevention to identify patterns that lead to atrocities?

If it sounds befuddling, it is.

To add to the confusion, Trump’s White House contradicted The Museum in their own remembrance message. Their briefing explicitly included other targeted groups in the day’s commemoration and expressed that, “we remember every man, woman, and child senselessly killed by the evil, depravity, and hate of the Nazi Regime.” This message bizarrely aligns more with the Auschwitz Institute and the United Nations’ remembrance bulletins.

We are meant to be rattled and unsure. Fascists focus on attacking academia and “intellectuals” for a reason — if they can break the trust built between the people and educational institutions, they maintain control. When a community no longer knows who to trust, it becomes easier to manipulate. If the US Holocaust Memorial Museum is contradicting itself with organizations such as the Auschwitz Institute …. then what is the truth? What — and whom — can we believe?

That is the goal today — manipulate the American mind to distract from realities on the ground. The Trump administration desperately wants to pivot from the bad press emanating from Minnesota. As more Americans speak out against ICE and note its Gestapo parallels, the MAGA mouthpieces struggle to justify or deny on Fox News. Can MAGA spoxes combat Jewish seniors in Florida hiding Haitian immigrants in their apartments because their plight “reminds” them of Anne Frank? Are the seniors radical left ANTIFA, too? (It’s worth noting that the USHMM has not commented on the above story.)

In fact, the Lemkin Institute — named after the man who created the legal definition of genocide — implicates Trump and his DHS in fostering white supremacist extremism in America. The institute further refers to federal ICE and Border Patrol agents as “the foot soldiers of genocide” and identifies in great detail the alarming parallels between this administration and the Nazi regime.

Trump cannot control the independent Lemkin Institute, but he can yank on the strings of the USHMM. Objectively, the USHMM enjoys more name recognition from the American people than other educational organizations. And now, its Council is stocked with Trump’s sycophants.

This is a hallmark strategy of his 2nd term, and it seems like they are hellbent on occupying and destroying history. The American History Smithsonian ripped out his impeachment placard. Federal agencies waged a devastating war against diversity, equity, and inclusion. Trump nixed eras of history deemed as “anti-white racism.” Unlike the Kennedy Center takeover — which reads more like egotistical self-legitimization — the corruption of organizations like USHMM is political theater and showmanship.

The Trump administration is also capitalizing on longstanding grievances over the Holocaust’s uniqueness and applicability to modern-day atrocities.

Despite these efforts, this divisive circus has not succeeded in detracting from the brilliant, impactful, and vital work of the Museum, nor is it a reflection of non-Council staff members or volunteers.

It is, however, a testament to its newly installed leadership. Evidently, it is easy to infiltrate these organizations and weaponize their missions for political protection. The advisors publishing these statements are heightening tensions in an already volatile state.

Furthermore, it is dangerous if everyday folks cannot recognize patterns between the Holocaust and the systemic, targeted, state-sponsored murder and oppression of certain groups of color. Worse, if the very institutions that have dedicated themselves to “Never Forget” and “Never Again” continue to obfuscate the facts of the Holocaust, they will themselves be part of the problem. Our sacred educational and memorial institutions must resist the urge to “save themselves” from Trump or dissolve into political pawns in these fascists’ chess matches.

Additionally, we must all reject their confounding disinformation and remain focused on upholding the rights and dignity of all people.

As they manipulate the USHMM, resist being manipulated as well. Stick with history — real, non-whitewashed history — and speak out when you see misinformation. Do not let the tidal waves of conflicting messaging take you. They can only manipulate us if we allow them to.

Ciera Stone is the Editorial Associate of The Contrarian