National Parks Reporting Program Flooded With Hundred of Anti-Trump Messages
The National Park Service's public reporting system intended to flag allegedly "anti-American" content at parks instead became flooded with criticism of President Donald Trump and his administration, according to newly released government records.
The Department of the Interior (DOI) published more than 35,000 public comments in its Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) library tied to Secretarial Order 3431 - a Trump-era directive ordering a review of monuments, exhibits and signs at National Park sites to ensure they reflected what the administration called "the greatness of the achievements and progress of the American people."
Rather than primarily reporting historically inaccurate exhibits or problematic signage, many commenters used the submission system to condemn the administration itself, accuse officials of "whitewashing" history, and criticize cuts to National Park staffing and funding.
Newsweek contacted the DOI and the White House outside of regular working hours via email for comment.
Commenters Accused Trump of ‘Whitewashing’ History
Those that submitted comments to the DOI about the implementation of SO 3431 also took the opportunity to criticize their president for various things, a notable one being for “whitewashing,” “erasing,” or “sanitizing” American history.
One comment read: “It is ridiculous that Trump is forcing federal employees to put up signs asking the public to censor anything that is viewed as a “negative” portrayal of U.S history. Pretending that nothing bad has ever happened to anyone in the U.S. is whitewashing history and is especially ironic at Manzanar.”
Manzanar is the site of one of 10 American internment camps where Japanese Americans were incarcerated during World War II.
Another comment read: “Trump is spreading falsehoods and lies about America and its history.”
Others were not so specific in their criticism: “To Mr. Trump and all his enablers: we reject most everything you stand for, and the ruinous, cruel impacts you insist on imposing upon the country we love,” one read.
Staffing and funding cuts to National Parks were another issue raised in the comments.
“SHAME SHAME SHAME on Trump,” one comment read in a post referring to the cuts. Another said: “MAGA and their complicit Republican lapdogs will not be judged kindly in the history books,” in a post about how staffing cuts had disrupted services at National Parks.
Other comments simply criticized Trump’s character, while others more broadly challenged the DOI and the administration over the changes that have been happening in the parks. Some comments though were not as serious, instead, for example, joking that writers had failed to spot Bigfoot during their trip to a park.
What Is Secretarial Order 3431?
SO 3431 directed the secretary of the interior to “review public monuments, memorials, statues, markers, or similar properties” within the DOI’s jurisdiction, and to “restore federal sites dedicated to history, including parks and museums, to solemn and uplifting public monuments that remind Americans of our extraordinary heritage.”
It came as part of Trump’s executive order on “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History.”
The order added that the natural and historical resources recognized by the DOI should “accurately reflect American history and not partisan ideology.”
This meant that the DOI was directed to ensure all public monuments and memorials “do not contain descriptions, depictions, or other content that inappropriately disparage Americans past or living (including persons living in colonial times),” instead focusing on the “greatness of the achievements and progress of the American people.”
Trump Administration Sued Over The Order
The order led to the removal of a number of national park exhibitions and signs, particularly those relating to climate change, sea level rise, LGBTQ+ rights, slavery and racism.
Removed exhibits included one about slavery at the President's House memorial in Independence National Historical Park, Philadelphia; a sign at Grand Teton National Park about an explorer who participated in, and bragged about, a massacre of Native Americans; and an LGBTQ+ Pride flag from the Stonewall National Monument in New York City, a move which prompted a separate lawsuit, raised by a group of LGBTQ+ advocates and a Greenwich Village community group. Some have since been returned following public outcry.
The DOI’s removal of exhibits and signs prompted a coalition of organizations to file a lawsuit against the administration, stating that the federal government had “betrayed” the trust of Congress to operate the national parks “for the benefit and enjoyment of the people.”
2026 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.
This story was originally published May 28, 2026 at 3:57 AM.