Chalk up another cherished American symbol that has quietly vanished under Donald Trump’s watch.
A bust of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., once prominently displayed in the Oval Office, has been removed under Donald Trump’s presidency amid a broader rollback of civil rights iconography, military tributes, and diversity initiatives across federal agencies.
The decision to move the bust from the Oval, confirmed by a White House official to Black Press USA, came without fanfare or photos. The sculpture was quietly relocated to the president’s private dining room sometime after April, when it was still visible during Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s visit. No explanation was given for its removal.
At the same time, Trump continues to court far-right figures like Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, a vocal critic of Dr. King’s legacy. Kirk, who has called the Civil Rights Act of 1964 a “mistake” and questioned the existence of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, has been appointed to the Air Force Academy Board of Visitors and attended high-profile White House events, including the swearing-in of Jeanine Pirro as the interim United States attorney for the District of Columbia last month.
The removal of King’s likeness from the Oval Office, while at the same time welcoming a man who seeks to dismantle his legacy, reflects more than just an office redesign, critics say. Since Trump’s second term began in January, civil advocates have underscored a clear and consistent effort by his administration to erase symbols of racial and social progress — especially those honoring Black and LGBTQ+ Americans.
That same pattern has taken hold across the Pentagon under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who earlier this month ordered the renaming of the USNS Harvey Milk, a ship named after the gay rights icon, who was assassinated in 1978. Though officials declined to say what the ship would be renamed, one defense source said the announcement was deliberately timed to coincide with Pride Month.
The Milk is part of the John Lewis-class of replenishment oilers, named after civil rights leaders and trailblazing public servants. Now, more than half of those ships — including those honoring Thurgood Marshall, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Harriet Tubman, Dolores Huerta, Cesar Chavez, Lucy Stone, and Medgar Evers — are under review for renaming. Only a few, including the USNS John Lewis, USNS Earl Warren, and USNS Sojourner Truth, remain untouched so far.
Military officials have quietly acknowledged that at least two older ships from the Lewis and Clark class are also being reviewed for potential name changes.
The push to erase these figures coincides with a wider campaign by the Trump administration to dismantle what it deems “woke” programs — particularly those related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Within days of his confirmation, Hegseth fired several high-ranking officers, including Air Force Gen. CQ Brown, the second Black chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and Adm. Lisa Franchetti, the Navy’s first woman chief of naval operations. He later eliminated DEI-related coursework at service academies and barred consideration of race or gender in admissions.
“Selecting anyone but the best erodes lethality, our warfighting readiness, and undercuts the culture of excellence in our armed forces,” Hegseth said last month.
Meanwhile, the administration’s purge has spilled beyond military leadership into digital archives. In March, the Pentagon deleted a Department of Defense web feature on Jackie Robinson’s Army service — a story that highlighted his stand against military segregation in 1944, years before he broke baseball’s color barrier.
The page reappeared only after public backlash and pressure from Robinson’s family.
“We were surprised to learn that a page on the Department of Defense’s website featuring Jackie Robinson…was taken down,” said David Robinson, his son and a board member of the Jackie Robinson Foundation. “We take great pride in Jackie Robinson’s service to our country as a soldier and a sports hero.”
When asked why the page was removed, a message had appeared on the site reading the page “might have been moved, renamed, or may be temporarily unavailable.” Embedded in the URL was the term “dei” — a detail first reported by KSBW and ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
Pressed for comment, Defense press secretary John Ullyot issued contradictory statements. At first, he praised the department for its “swift compliance” with Trump’s DEI directive. Hours later, a revised statement paid respect to Robinson’s legacy but sidestepped whether the removal was intentional.
Other historic web pages have also vanished — including those honoring Navajo Code Talkers, Japanese-American WWII veterans, and Black Medal of Honor recipient Maj. Gen. Charles C. Rogers. Pages about civil rights martyr Medgar Evers were stripped from the Arlington National Cemetery website. Training videos about the Tuskegee Airmen and Women Air Force Service Pilots were eliminated from the Air Force curriculum in January, the very day Hegseth was confirmed.
Critics view this as a calculated dismantling of history.
“This is the establishment of Jim Crow 2.0,” warned Democratic South Carolina Rep. James Clyburn. “What does DEI have to do with Jackie Robinson and Medgar Evers?”
Robinson’s legacy has been a flashpoint before. Trump once included the baseball icon in a proposed National Garden of American Heroes and featured his photo in a 2020 campaign ad. But Robinson’s daughter, Sharon Robinson, objected publicly.
“Jackie Robinson’s family strongly objects to the use of Jackie Robinson’s image in a Donald Trump [ad]. The Trump campaign is in opposition to all that Jackie Robinson stood for and believed in. We’re insulted and demand that his image be removed!”
Despite claims from Republican Rep. James Comer of Kentucky that these digital removals were “mistakes” by artificial intelligence, many see a pattern too consistent to ignore. “In every case, the only content being erased belongs to Americans who are not white,” said one critic familiar with the Pentagon’s internal review process.
At least 24,000 historical articles were reportedly under review for potential deletion, CNN reported last month.
Taken together — from the quiet removal of MLK’s bust to the erasure of Robinson and Evers, to the renaming of ships honoring civil rights and LGBTQ icons — the Trump administration’s actions reflect a sweeping agenda: one that actively seeks to erase the symbols of America’s long and painful march toward equality.
Reactions on social media were mixed, but those defending Trump’s decision to remove MLK’s bust faced swift and decisive blowback.
“It’s his choice for whatever he wants in the Oval Office,” one user wrote, sparking a flurry of angry responses.
“But it’s not his damn office, It’s The PEOPLE’S OFFICE, he is gone in 3 years, hopefully before then,” someone clapped back in a sentiment echoed by a handful of others.
One commenter took it further, suggesting future Democratic presidents should take a page from Trump’s book and respond in kind.
Another user accused Trump of using the move to stir controversy and shift focus away from his haphazard policies on the economy and immigration.
“When he has a bad week, and he just had a bad one, he does something bigoted to distract the media and rile up his base. We have a 10-year record of this,” he mused.
Others attempted to clarify that the bust wasn’t packed up and shipped out, just relocated within the White House.
“To be clear, he apparently just moved it to another spot in the White House,” one person wrote, before adding, “Still a weird move.”
Still, many weren’t convinced the relocation was innocent. They argued that the decision reflected how little regard Trump had for King’s legacy.
“Of course he did. Can’t have a reminder of actual courage and moral clarity staring at him while he’s busy mumbling about dishwashers and revenge. The bust had too much dignity — clashed with the decor of grievance and spray tan.”
