Donald Trump's National Park Tip Line Flooded With Angry Messages
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
A tip line set up at national parks and monuments by the Trump administration has been flooded with angry visitors.
The Trump administration has been asking national park visitors to report any language they see in the parks that is "negative about either past or living Americans or that fails to emphasize the beauty, grandeur, and abundance of landscapes." They can do this via a QR code link attached to signs.
According to National Park Service (NPS) sources who spoke with Government Executive, over 200 people have responded to the signs, but none have followed the prompt. Instead, they are using the QR code page to say they find the request "outrageous."
Their responses have not been independently verified by Newsweek.
A Department of the Interior spokesperson told Newsweek: "It is a true shame that employees are spending their time leaking to the media instead of doing work for the American people. The same American people who fund their paychecks. Leaks will not be tolerated and this will be investigated."
Main: A National Park Service sign on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco. Inset: A protester waves an upside-down American flag in front of the U.S. Capitol on March 4, 2025.
Main: A National Park Service sign on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco. Inset: A protester waves an upside-down American flag in front of the U.S. Capitol on March 4, 2025.
Main: Jed Jacobsohn, Inset: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP Photo
Why It Matters
Pushback from national park-goers suggests that many people are unhappy about the attempt to revise language related to American history.
During President Donald Trump's second presidency, his administration has designated English as the national language, removed hundreds of books from military libraries that are about race relations and LGBTQ+ history in the United States, and reverted military bases to their Confederate names.
The Trump administration has also removed mentions of transgender people from the Stonewall National Monument website, despite a transgender woman being the person who initiated the riot.
What To Know
National park visitors have started to notice signs going up asking them to report language in the parks that discusses America's past or present in a negative light.
It follows Trump's executive order "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History," which says: "It is the policy of my Administration to restore Federal sites dedicated to history, including parks and museums, to solemn and uplifting public monuments that remind Americans of our extraordinary heritage, consistent progress toward becoming a more perfect Union, and unmatched record of advancing liberty, prosperity, and human flourishing."
Visitors who respond to the tip line have not been afraid to voice their genuine opinions, according to emails obtained by Government Executive.
One email reads: "The executive order...asking for feedback is ****. Parks already do an amazing job telling stories that contain hard truths and everyone is entitled to the truth to make better decisions in our lives. So what if people feel bad?"
Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as seen on April 17, 2023.
Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as seen on April 17, 2023.
Phelan M. Ebenhack/AP Photo
Another person said in a feedback note to NPS after visiting Independence Hall in Philadelphia: "What upset me the most about the museum—more than anything in the actual exhibits—were the signs telling people to report anything they thought was negative about Americans.
"That isn't just frustrating, it's outrageous. It felt like an open invitation to police and attack historians for simply doing their jobs: telling the truth."
Many people have pointed out how several monuments and parks, such as Stonewall and the Manzanar National Historical Site, a former Japanese internment camp, serve to educate Americans on negative aspects of history so that the same mistakes are not made again.
The act used to intern Japanese-Americans en masse in camps was the Alien Enemies Act, now being used by the Trump administration to enable the mass detention and deportation of undocumented people.
This executive order has been criticized by the National Parks Conservation Association, with Alan Spears, senior director of Cultural Resources, saying: "The president's executive order could jeopardize the Park Service's mission to protect and interpret American history...Every American who cares about our country's history should be worried about what people, places, and themes disappear next."
A National Park Service sign marks the Stonewall National Monument outside the Stonewall Inn in New York City on June 17, 2024.
A National Park Service sign marks the Stonewall National Monument outside the Stonewall Inn in New York City on June 17, 2024.
Pamela Smith, File/AP Photo
What People Are Saying
An email sent by an Independence Hall visitor obtained by Government Executive: "Putting up signs like that doesn't protect anyone, [it] just tells visitors that the truth is a problem. And I can't think of anything more offensive than that."
Theresa Pierno, president of the National Parks Conservation Association, told Government Executive: "If our country erases the darker chapters of our history, we will never learn from our mistakes. These signs must come down immediately."
Alan Spears, National Parks Conservation Association senior director of Cultural Resources, said in a press release: "For more than a century, National Park Service staff have worked tirelessly to provide park visitors with a truthful accounting of the people and places at the center of that history. That truthful and factual accounting of history should not change, regardless of which political party is in power."
Executive Order Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History: "Museums in our Nation's capital should be places where individuals go to learn — not to be subjected to ideological indoctrination or divisive narratives that distort our shared history."
What Happens Next
Trump's executive order also calls for changes to Smithsonian Museum displays and exhibits. Visitors are likely to continue encountering these signs throughout the summer, when the parks are at their busiest.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
36 minutes ago
- New York Post
What will it take for Gavin Newsom to focus on his day job?
President Donald Trump rightly took the ruling upholding his National Guard deployment to Los Angeles as a 'BIG WIN,' but it can be a winner for Californians, too — if it inspires their governor to focus on the job they elected him to. Gov. Gavin Newsom vows to litigate on, but if necessary the Supreme Court will slap him down, too. What will get him to quit his near-nonstop posturing to set himself up for a 2028 presidential run, and get his nose to the gubernatorial grindstone? It's bad enough that he sided with LA Mayor Karen Bass in obstructing ICE efforts to deport child predators, murderers and other worst-of-the-worst 'asylum seekers' — posturing that all but invited the riots that Trump deployed the Guard to shut down. Worse that this rush to the left came after Newsom's fake to the right with a series of podcasts where he pretended sympathy to centrist criticisms of the far-left agenda. That follows his haplessness during the Los Angeles fires — a disaster Trump credibly tied to Newsom's green obsessions. Other Gavin grotesquerie included rushing to meet the president on Trump's LA visit bare weeks after prepping for all-out legal #resistance to the new prez. California is plagued with soaring homelessness, elevated crime rates and brutally high costs of living: Even its welcome to illegal immigrants hasn't prevented a historic switch from growth to decline. That is: On Newsom's watch, Cali is for the first time ever losing seats in the House of Representatives because so many residents are fleeing to less-toxic jurisdictions. The Golden State is a natural near-paradise, but Newsom & co. are destroying it. That governor is still devoting his time and energy to a years-off national run is damning proof that he doesn't care a whit for the people of California.
New York Times
40 minutes ago
- New York Times
Where the Legal Fight Over the California National Guard Stands
President Trump's decision this month to send National Guard troops to Los Angeles against the wishes of Gov. Gavin Newsom has sparked a legal battle that could reshape how much latitude a president has to deploy the military on U.S. soil. On June 10, days after Mr. Trump federalized the California National Guard in response to protests over immigration raids, the state filed a lawsuit calling the move illegal. Even as the Trump administration added active-duty Marines to the mix, a judge ordered it to return the National Guard to the control of Mr. Newsom. But an appeals court blocked that move, and Mr. Trump maintains authority over those troops today. Mr. Trump's decision to deploy troops came after Immigration and Customs Enforcement started carrying out raids at workplaces in the city, sweeping up hundreds of migrants for potential deportation and drawing protesters. While the majority protested peacefully, a subset committed violent acts like throwing objects and burning vehicles. Here's where things stand in the case. What made Trump's decision to deploy troops significant? Normally, governors control their state's National Guard and dispatch such troops themselves when there is a need to quell civil disorder or fight a natural disaster. On rare occasions, the president may take control of a guard or otherwise deploy troops under federal control on domestic soil, but in recent decades that has happened only at a governor's request. Mr. Trump's move was the first time in more than six decades that a president had taken control of a state guard over a governor's objections, raising profound questions about presidential power, state sovereignty and civil liberties. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
New York Times
44 minutes ago
- New York Times
Trump and the Great Wait for Israelis and Iranians
When it comes to foreign conflicts, there are two President Trumps. There is the firebrand isolationist of the 2016 presidential campaign, who as president set the stage for the American withdrawal from Afghanistan and, in 2019, called off an airstrike on Iran with only 10 minutes to go. And there is the president who, in early 2020, authorized a drone strike to kill Iran's top security and intelligence commander. This week, Trump gave himself up to two weeks to decide which approach he will take toward the war that Israel began last week by attacking Iran. The extra time could allow him to expand his arsenal of options and calibrate the thorny politics of any decision. But it will also come with real consequences for Israelis and Iranians. Today, I called my colleague Patrick Kingsley, The Times's bureau chief in Jerusalem. He explained how Trump's delay is shaping calculations on both sides — and how, for civilians, two weeks could feel like a very long time indeed. Can you describe life for Israeli and Iranian civilians in this moment? There's a mood of terror and fear in both countries as the airstrikes come down. In Israel, civilians are rushing, sometimes several times a day, into bomb shelters to avoid getting hit by Iranian missiles that have regularly been fired into civilian areas. At least two dozen Israelis have been killed. In Iran, where there are far fewer shelters, the death toll is higher than 200, which includes many civilians. Following Israeli evacuation orders, often issued at very short notice, huge numbers of Iranian civilians have been forced to flee Tehran — a city of roughly 10 million. That has led to massive traffic jams and gas shortages, all against the backdrop of prolonged internet blackouts. We don't know if an American strike would end the suffering. But two weeks of diplomacy doesn't immediately end it, either. It locks us in for up to two weeks of continued fighting between Israel and Iran, killing civilians in both countries. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
