Brandon Gill grills Smithsonian director over 'racist' Mickey Mouse, politeness, 'white supremacy culture'

Tuesday during a House Oversight Committee hearing, Brandon Gill pressed Anthea M. Hartig, who serves as director of the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, over a white supremacy Mass Action Toolkit the museum promoted under the director's tutelage and her comments on Mickey Mouse being rooted in racism.

"Would you say that the goal of history is to be objective?" Gill asked Hartig.

"I think there are many goals of history, and certainly as we collect, as we do examine evidence, it creates objectivity... We strive to be objective and nonpartisan and not based on any..."

"Doesn't it seem a little bit concerning? It certainly does that part of this white supremacy document that your organization has promoted says objectivity is a core defining aspect of white supremacy culture," Gill interrupted. "Do you think it is the goal of the Smithsonian Institution to promote white supremacy culture?"

Hartig paused for a while before Gill asked if the question was difficult for her. Hartig went on to say that the Smithsonian did not develop the Mass Action Toolkit but that it was used as a reference in 2019-2020, to which the congressman instantly told her the handbook was implemented under her leadership.

Gill then pressed Director Hartig about whether she thought Mickey Mouse was racist.

"Is Mickey Mouse racist?" Gill asked Hartig.

"Mickey Mouse is not racist," Hartig responded.

"According to the Smithsonian Institution, one of your exhibits referenced Mickey Mouse as representing, quote, 'vestiges of longstanding traditions of blackface minstrelsy.' Would you describe that as racist?"

The director responded that while Mickey Mouse was not racist, it was rooted in minstrelsy, that the practice had obvious, well-documented racial undertones, and that it was not up to her to decide whether it was "problematic."

Gill proceeded to ask Hartig if she thought it was important to be polite, to which she replied, "Yes, sir."

"Interesting, because the same Mass Action Toolkit that your organization has been promoting references politeness as a defining characteristic of white supremacy culture," he said. "Ma'am, are you a white supremacist?" he asked Hartig.

"No, sir," she replied.

Gill asked her if she could square away exactly why the Smithsonian said being polite is a characteristic of white supremacy.

"I'm not exactly familiar with that aspect of the Mass Action Toolkit," she responded.

Gill then pressed Hartig on whether she thought it was appropriate that the Smithsonian sells "Latina Power" paraphernalia.

Hartig dodged the question and responded that "the merchandise the store sells reflects the richness of the communities."

Gill asked her if the sale of the merchandise was appropriate, to which Hartig implied she had no control as director over what was being sold at the museum stores.

The hearing comes amid a Republican push to reshape the Smithsonian. In March 2025, President Trump signed an executive order designed to eliminate what the administration referred to as "improper, divisive, or anti-American ideology" from its federally funded museums and educational programming. The White House argued that the Smithsonian had come under the influence of "divisive, race-centered ideology," the Washington Post reports.