The White House does not belong to President Donald Trump. It is the property of the United States — of the American people. The president is a temporary resident whose claim on the building lasts only as long as his time in office, which is set by the Constitution.

The Smithsonian Institution does not belong to Trump, either. It is not even part of the executive branch. It was established by Congress in 1846 as a “trust instrumentality,” an independent organization backed by the government and administered by a Board of Regents that consists of the chief justice and the vice president of the United States, federal lawmakers and private citizens. In the broad sense, then, the Smithsonian also belongs to the American people, as an expression of their interest in “the increase and diffusion

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