David Smith in Washington

Oscar nominee warns ‘truth itself is under revision’ while receiving award at Smithsonian American history museum

Ava DuVernay, an Oscar-nominated and Emmy-winning director, has urged artists and historians to hold the line against a “criminal” US president at a time when “truth itself is under revision”.

DuVernay, whose films include Selma, which chronicles Martin Luther King’s campaign for voting rights, issued the rallying cry while receiving an award at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington.

The president started his second term fast and furious with a flurry of activity – much of it legally dubious – but analysts say the honeymoon is over

“Not just courageous” but “actually fearless” said Doug Burgum. The “first 100 days has far exceeded that of any other presidency in this country ever,” said Pam Bondi. “Most” of the presidents whose portraits adorn the Oval Office – which include George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Reagan – were mere “placeholders” who were not “men of action”, mused JD Vance.