‘Is Mickey Mouse Racist?’: GOP’s Brandon Gill Corners Smithsonian Director on Leftist Policies

On Tuesday, the House Oversight Committee held a hearing to get some answers on the Smithsonian Museum’s approach and views of race.

Entitled “Rewriting American History: Examining the Smithsonian’s Efforts to Reshape the Past,” the hearing was based on some alarming White House reports that claimed the museum was engaging in “extreme political activism.”

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One of the main witnesses at this hearing was Smithsonian director Anthea Hartig.

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Hartig’s 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.

But even expecting that… Texas Republican firebrand Rep. Brandon Gill’s time with Hartig produced one of the more unique lines of questioning one would encounter at such a hearing.

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“Is Mickey Mouse racist?” Gill flatly asked Hartig.

“Mickey Mouse is not racist,” Hartig responded.

“It’s not racist…” Gill said. “According to the Smithsonian Institution, one of your exhibits referenced Mickey Mouse as representing ‘vestiges of long-standing traditions of blackface minstrelsy.’”

“Would you describe that as racist?”

Hartig then tried to explain that Mickey Mouse’s “historical trajectory” connects the iconic children’s mascot to…

“So Mickey Mouse is rooted in racism, is that your testimony?” Gill interjected.

“No, sir, it’s rooted in minstrelsy,” Hartig said.

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