{"id":2633639,"date":"2026-07-22T12:51:58","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T16:51:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/is-mickey-mouse-racist-gops-brandon-gill-corners-smithsonian-director-on-leftist-policies\/"},"modified":"2026-07-22T12:56:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T16:56:12","slug":"is-mickey-mouse-racist-gops-brandon-gill-corners-smithsonian-director-on-leftist-policies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/is-mickey-mouse-racist-gops-brandon-gill-corners-smithsonian-director-on-leftist-policies\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;Is Mickey Mouse Racist?&#8217;: GOP&#8217;s Brandon Gill Corners Smithsonian Director on Leftist Policies"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fis-mickey-mouse-racist-gops-brandon-gill-corners-smithsonian-director-on-leftist-policies%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2633639&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>On Tuesday, a House Oversight Committee hearing focused on the Smithsonian Museum&#8217;s perspectives and efforts related to race and American history. The hearing, titled \u201cRewriting American History,\u201d was prompted by White House reports alleging the museum engaged in &#8220;extreme political activism.&#8221; Members criticized the Smithsonian&#8217;s National Museum of american History for promoting divisive and inaccurate narratives about U.S.history, race, gender, and sexuality, suggesting it was used to advance a politicized agenda.Smithsonian director Anthea Hartig testified, facing tougher questions from Republicans, notably from Rep. Brandon Gill, who questioned whether Mickey Mouse was racist, referencing an exhibit linking Mickey mouse to racist minstrel traditions, and challenging the museum&#8217;s portrayal of concepts like &#8220;politeness&#8221; and &#8220;white supremacy.&#8221; The exchange highlighted ongoing ideological debates over how history and cultural symbols are presented and interpreted in national institutions.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><br \/>\n<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\"><br \/>\n<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><html><body><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_0)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>On Tuesday, the House Oversight Committee held a hearing to get some answers on the Smithsonian Museum\u2019s approach and views of race.<\/p>\n<p>Entitled \u201cRewriting American History: Examining the Smithsonian\u2019s Efforts to Reshape the Past,\u201d the hearing was based on some alarming White House reports that claimed the museum was engaging in \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/smithsonians-american-history-museum-engages-extreme-political-activism-new-white-house-report-concludes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">extreme political activism<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDuring the hearing, members examined efforts of the National Museum of American History (NMAH) and the broader Smithsonian Institution to promote divisive, inappropriate, and factually inaccurate programming on U.S. history,\u201d the committee <a href=\"https:\/\/oversight.house.gov\/release\/hearing-wrap-up-smithsonian-national-museum-of-american-historys-radical-agenda-to-reshape-the-past\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">stated<\/a>. \u201cMembers criticized the use of the taxpayer-funded NMAH as a tool to promote a politicized agenda concerning issues of race, class, gender and sexuality.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>One of the main witnesses at this hearing was Smithsonian director Anthea Hartig.<\/p>\n<p>The hearing largely went as these hearings typically do, with whichever political party that sympathizes with the witness lobbing softball questions, and the party against the witness asking significantly harder ones.<\/p>\n<p>Hartig\u2019s critics have characterized her as a far leftist, so it should come as little surprise that her time with Republican lawmakers was decidedly more tense than her time with the Democrats.<\/p>\n<p>But even expecting that\u2026 Texas Republican firebrand Rep. Brandon Gill\u2019s time with Hartig produced one of the more unique lines of questioning one would encounter at such a hearing.<\/p>\n<p>It was unique enough that Gill d the entire exchange on X:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">The Smithsonian promoted an exhibit that claimed Mickey Mouse was racist.<\/p>\n<p>I asked the Director of the National American History Museum why\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/oY7Z9l4b7D\">pic.twitter.com\/oY7Z9l4b7D<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Brandon Gill (@realBrandonGill) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/realBrandonGill\/status\/2079607989892243609?\">July 21, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>\u201cIs Mickey Mouse racist?\u201d Gill flatly asked Hartig.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMickey Mouse is not racist,\u201d Hartig responded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s not racist\u2026\u201d Gill said. \u201cAccording to the Smithsonian Institution, one of your exhibits referenced Mickey Mouse as representing \u2018vestiges of long-standing traditions of blackface minstrelsy.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWould you describe that as racist?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Hartig then tried to explain that Mickey Mouse\u2019s \u201chistorical trajectory\u201d connects the iconic children\u2019s mascot to\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo Mickey Mouse is <em>rooted <\/em>in racism, is that your testimony?\u201d Gill interjected.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo, sir, it\u2019s rooted in minstrelsy,\u201d Hartig said.<\/p>\n<p>Gill then prodded a bit further, trying to figure out how minstrelsy \u2014 which can involve blackface \u2014 was <em>not <\/em>racist.<\/p>\n<p>According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/smithsonian-director-pressed-woke-exhibits-mickey-mouse-racist\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Fox News<\/a>, Walt Disney\u2019s most enduring creation wasn\u2019t the only topic Gill wanted to hit during his allotted time with Hartig.<\/p>\n<p>The outlet reported, \u201cGill also cited the MASS Action Toolkit, a mid-2010s anthology for museums that references the 2014 Ferguson, Missouri, police shooting and subsequent Black Lives Matter protests, and asked Hartig whether it was important to be \u2018polite.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After Hartig\u2019s affirmative answer, Gill immediately twisted it on her, as he cited past toolkits that described concepts like \u201cobjectivity\u201d and \u201cpoliteness\u201d as features of white supremacy.<\/p>\n<p>Hartig claimed that those toolkits were not the Smithsonian\u2019s, despite the fact that her museum\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/smithsonian-targets-whiteness-lists-issues-like-rational-thinking-self-reliance-problematic\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">own toolkit<\/a> effectively brands concepts like self-reliance and scientific or objective thinking as hallmarks of white supremacy.<\/p>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #171717; display: flex;font-size: 16px;font-weight: 600;line-height: 1.5;margin: 24px 0;padding: 18px 20px 18px 30px;text-align: left;\">\n<div style=\"align-self: stretch;border-left: 3px solid #171717;flex-shrink: 0;padding-left: 20px;\"><\/div>\n<p><a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/\">Choose The Western Journal as your preferred source on Google and never miss reporting that defends truth, protects freedom, and advances Western civilization<\/a><\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey == typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts = { \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs = [ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i = 0; i < inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]] = document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display = 'block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display = 'none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src = firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display = 'inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id'] = firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting = jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display = 'none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display = 'block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/body><\/html><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On Tuesday, the House Oversight Committee held a hearing titled \u201cRewriting American History,\u201d to scrutinize the Smithsonian\u2019s stance on race. The session was prompted by White House reports alleging the museum was involved in \u201cextreme political activism.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2633640,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Ben-Working-Feature-Image-2026-07-22T000813.058.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[43818,82993,37043,50526,17565],"class_list":["post-2633639","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-leftist-policies","tag-mickey-mouse","tag-political-debate","tag-racism-2","tag-smithsonian"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Ben-Working-Feature-Image-2026-07-22T000813.058.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2633639","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2633639"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2633639\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2633643,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2633639\/revisions\/2633643"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2633640"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2633639"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2633639"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2633639"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}