{"id":46738,"date":"2026-02-17T11:59:59","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T19:59:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=46738"},"modified":"2026-02-17T12:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T20:00:00","slug":"comparing-trump-admin-to-ministry-of-truth-in-orwells-1984-judge-orders-slavery-exhibits-restored","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2026\/02\/17\/comparing-trump-admin-to-ministry-of-truth-in-orwells-1984-judge-orders-slavery-exhibits-restored\/","title":{"rendered":"Comparing Trump Admin to Ministry of Truth in Orwell\u2019s 1984, Judge Orders Slavery Exhibits Restored"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"President's<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to restore exhibits about slavery at the President\u2019s House in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on February 16, 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0(Photo by National Park Service)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A government agency \u201ccannot arbitrarily decide what is true, based on its own whims or the whims of the new leadership, regardless of the evidence before it,\u201d said the Republican-appointed judge.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Jessica Corbett<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Feb 16, 2026 (CommonDreams.org)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHappy Presidents Day!\u201d a journalist declared<\/a> Monday in response to a federal judge\u2019s opinion that compares President Donald Trump\u2019s administration removing displays about slavery from a historical site in Philadelphia<\/a> to the actions of the propaganda agency in George Orwell\u2019s dystopian novel 1984<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Judge Cynthia Rufe\u2014appointed to the Eastern District of Pennsylvania<\/a> by former Republican President George W. Bush\u2014began by quoting the iconic 1949 critique of totalitarianism<\/a>: \u201cAll history was a palimpsest, scraped clean, and reinscribed exactly as often as was necessary. In no case would it have been possible, once the deed was done, to prove that any falsification had taken place.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RECOMMENDED…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Trump<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Philadelphia Sues Over Trump\u2019s Removal of Slavery Exhibits From George Washington\u2019s Home<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Gaza<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Confirming Everything We Knew Already\u2019: Docs Show Trump Admin Targeted Gaza Activists for Their Opinions<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The judge then wrote that \u201cas if the Ministry of Truth in George Orwell\u2019s 1984<\/em> now existed, with its motto \u2018Ignorance is Strength,\u2019 this court is now asked to determine whether the federal government has the power it claims\u2014to dissemble and disassemble historical truths when it has some domain over historical facts. It does not.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe President\u2019s House is a component of Independence National Historical Park that commemorates the site of the first official presidential residence and the people who lived there, including people enslaved by President George Washington<\/a>,\u201d she explained on the federal holiday established to honor the first US president. \u201cOn January 22, 2026, the National Park Service (NPS) removed panels, displays, and video exhibits that referenced slavery and information about the individuals enslaved at the President\u2019s House.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The removal followed Trump\u2019s March executive order<\/a> aimed at ensuring \u201cfederal sites dedicated to history, including parks and museums,\u201d are not subjected to what he called \u201cideological indoctrination or divisive narratives that distort our shared history,\u201d which is just one piece of the president\u2019s \u201cwar on history<\/a>\u201d and embrace of authoritarianism<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Relying on the Administrative Procedures Act, Philadelphia sued the NPS and acting Director Jessica Bowron, as well as the parent agency, the US Department of the Interior, and its secretary, Doug Burgum, over the removal of the slavery exhibits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn its argument, the government claims it alone has the power to erase, alter, remove, and hide historical accounts on taxpayer and local government-funded monuments within its control. Its claims in this regard echo Big Brother\u2019s domain in Orwell\u2019s 1984<\/em>,\u201d Rufe wrote in her 40-page opinion. She cited the novel\u2019s description of the largest section in the fictional government\u2019s Records Department, which \u201cconsisted simply of persons whose duty it was to track down and collect all copies of books, newspapers, and other documents which had been superseded and were due for destruction.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Rufe, \u201cThe government here likewise asserts truth is no longer self-evident, but rather the property of the elected chief magistrate and his appointees and delegees, at his whim to be scraped clean, hidden, or overwritten. And why? Solely because, as defendants state, it has the power.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/x.com\/mehdirhasan\/status\/2023472408477495499?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2023472408477495499%7Ctwgr%5E43a0751cf9ec8930ba67ab37ea06cc0ee204e6a0%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.commondreams.org%2Fnews%2Ftrump-1984<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAn agency, whether the Department of the Interior, NPS, or any other agency, cannot arbitrarily decide what is true, based on its own whims or the whims of the new leadership, regardless of the evidence before it,\u201d Rufe stressed. She found that the federal defendants \u201ccompletely ignored their legislatively imposed duties,\u201d took actions that \u201cimpede the separation of powers instituted by the Constitution,\u201d and \u201cacted in excess of their authority as agencies authorized by Congress within the executive branch.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The judge determined that Philadelphia \u201cis likely to prevail on its claims that the removal was arbitrary and capricious,\u201d and \u201cmet its burden to establish irreparable harm.\u201d She concluded that \u201cthe balance of harms and the public interest tip in the city\u2019s favor.\u201d Her preliminary injunction requires the reinstallation of \u201call panels, displays, and video exhibits that were previously in place,\u201d and bars defendants from \u201cany additions, removals, destruction, or further changes of any kind to the President\u2019s House site.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Politico<\/em> senior legal affairs reporter Kyle Cheney flagged<\/a> the opinion on social media<\/a>, highlighting the Orwell references. His posts gathered thousands of reposts and responses, including from observers who were alarmed by the administration\u2019s actions and welcomed the judge\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFederal judges continue to speak up and speak out. It is amazing to see one quote George Orwell, but it also feels appropriate at a time when we see so many attacks on the rule of law<\/a>,\u201d said<\/a> Lawyers Defending American Democracy<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Democratic Montgomery County Commissioner Neil Makhija\u00a0wrote<\/a>\u00a0on Bluesky: \u201cProud of this result. The court cited Orwell\u2019s\u00a01984<\/em>\u00a0recognizing that we can\u2019t just erase hard truths from our history. Montgomery County was proud to join Bucks, Chester, and Delaware Counties in filing an amicus brief to support preserving the President\u2019s House slavery exhibits. Happy Presidents Day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jessica Corbett<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jessica Corbett is a senior editor and staff writer for Common Dreams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Full Bio ><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to restore exhibits about slavery at the President\u2019s House in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on February 16, 2026. \u00a0(Photo by National Park Service) A government agency \u201ccannot arbitrarily decide what is true, based on its own whims or the whims of the new leadership, regardless… Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46738"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46738"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46738\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":46739,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46738\/revisions\/46739"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46738"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46738"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46738"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}