Trump victorious in legal battle to erase climate change and slavery signs from national parks

Donald Trump wants to “restore truth and sanity” to US history by removing signage on climate change, slavery and other topics. Donald Trump has been given the green light to continue erasing the truth about climate change from national parks across the US, following a drawn-out legal battle. Yesterday (Thursday, 2 July) a US appeals court in Boston temporarily lifted a judge’s order requiring the Trump administration to reinstall dozens of exhibits that it had removed from national parks for casting the country in a “negative light”. This includes factually accurate displays on topics such as climate change and US involvement in the slave trade. Trump’s mission to scrub climate change from national parks Last year, the POTUS signed an executive order aiming to “restore truth and sanity to American history” at the nation’s museums, parks and landmarks. It directed the Interior Department to ensure that those sites do not display elements that “inappropriately disparage American past or living”. Interior Secretary Sough Burgum later directed the removal of any “improper partisan ideology". National Parks Conservation Association, American Association for State and Local History, Association of National Park Rangers and Union of Concerned Scientists rallied together to file a lawsuit stalling the administration’s efforts. “National parks serve as living classrooms for our country, where science and history come to life for visitors,” Alan Spears, senior director of cultural resources at NPCA told news agency AP last year. “As Americans, we deserve national parks that tell stories of our country’s triumphs and heartbreaks alike. We can handle the truth.” In June, a district court judge sided with the NGOs, ordering the federal government to reinstall any removed materials within 21 days. However, this week the court of appeals argued that a lower court was wrong in suggesting that Trump’s order would cause “irreparable harm” if the contested materials were not promptly returned – a key argument in their lawsuit. It means that, for now, the administration has free rein to continue removing signage it deems an “ideological indoctrination”. ‘Another example of erasure and censure’ In September 2025, physical signs at two popular destinations at Acadia National Park in Maine were removed. They informed visitors of the park’s changing climate, which had been witnessing more frequent storms, intense rainfall and rising temperatures. “We have decades of scientific research that demonstrates the impact of climate change on Acadia National Park – longer droughts, more intense precipitation events, coastal storms [and] sea level rise,” Todd Martin of NPCA said last year. “The signs coming down at Acadia are just another example of erasure and censure that we’ve seen at our parks in recent weeks and months.” The Department of Interior had notoriously ordered a famous photograph titled ‘Scourged Black’ to be removed from at least one national park site. The 1863 photograph shows an enslaved man named Peter with severe whip scars on his back. US prepares for extreme heat Trump’s victory comes as the US swelters under scorching temperatures that are set to clash with 4 July celebrations. New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani recently advised residents to stay cool inside and avoid “extraordinary temperatures” while in Hamptonburgh, multiple heat-related illnesses occurred after air conditioning failed on a bus carrying Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps cadets. Jeff Schlegelmilch, associate professor at Columbia University Climate School, says heat is one of the easiest things to attribute to climate change. “We have seen a continued increase in longer summers, hotter temperatures, hotter temperatures earlier on, more evaporation of moisture, higher humidity – effects like that,” he adds. But Americans can only make the connection if they’re told it exists.