A look at key moments in Falwell's relationship with Liberty

During 13 years under the stewardship of Jerry Falwell Jr., Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, has grown into a powerhouse with an endowment of over $1.7 billion, more than 15,000 on-campus and over 94,000 virtual students and a Division I athletics program.

However, Falwell’s tenure at Liberty has become increasingly controversial. On Tuesday, he resigned as university president after the latest in a series of scandals, this one involving an extramarital affair by his wife and allegations from her lover that Falwell participated as a voyeur.

A look at key moments in Falwell’s life and relationship with the university:

FILE - In this Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2018 file photo, Jerry Falwell Jr., right, answers a student's question accompanied by his wife, Becki, during after a town hall on the opioid crisis at a convocation at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va. On Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2020, Falwell said that he has submitted his resignation as head of evangelical Liberty University. (AP PhotoSteve Helber)

— June 17, 1962: Jerry Falwell Jr. is born in Lynchburg to the Southern Baptist pastor and televangelist Jerry Falwell Sr. and Macel Pate Falwell.

— 1971: The Lynchburg Baptist College is founded, beginning as an institution of just 154 students. It would be renamed Liberty Baptist College in 1977 and Liberty University in 1985.

— 1984: Falwell Jr. graduates from Liberty with a bachelor’s degree in religious studies and history.

FILE - This Tuesday, April 21, 2015 file photo shows Liberty University's new nine story dorm expansion under construction in Lynchburg, Va., in the foothills of Virginia's Blue Ridge mountains. On Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2020, Jerry Falwell, Jr. said that he has submitted his resignation as head of evangelical Liberty University. (AP PhotoSteve Helber)

— 1987: Falwell Jr. earns a law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law. A few months later he marries Becki Tilley, also a graduate of Liberty, according to his university bio.

— May 15, 2007: Falwell Sr. dies at age 73. Falwell Jr. is named president of Liberty soon after.

— 2007-present: With Falwell Jr. at the helm, Liberty dramatically expands its enrollment, curriculum and academic, residential and athletic facilities, including with the 2014 opening of the Center for Medical and Health Sciences. Today the university has net assets of over $2.3 billion, up from $220,000 in 2008, and is one of the largest Christian universities in the country and a force in Republican politics.

FILE - In this Thursday, July 21, 2016 file photo, Jerry Falwell Jr., president of Liberty University, speaks during the final day of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland. On Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2020, Falwell said that he has submitted his resignation as head of evangelical Liberty University. (AP PhotoCarolyn Kaster)

— Jan. 26, 2016: Falwell endorses Donald Trump for president, becoming one of the first conservative Christians to do so. In the spring, longtime Liberty trustee Mark DeMoss criticizes the endorsement and later resigns amid disagreement with the board.

— Oct. 10, 2016: Falwell calls Trump’s “Access Hollywood” tape comments about sexually assaulting women “reprehensible,” but sticks with his endorsement and defends Trump as “somebody bragging in a locker room-type environment about something they never did.”

— May 13, 2017: Trump gives a Liberty commencement address before a crowd estimated at about 50,000.

FILE - In this May 13, 2017 file photo, President Donald Trump stands with Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. in Lynchburg, Va. On Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2020, Falwell said that he has submitted his resignation as head of evangelical Liberty University. (AP PhotoSteve Helber)

— Aug. 20, 2017: Falwell defends Trump after the president says there were “very fine people on both sides” at a white supremacist rally and counterprotest in Charlottesville, Virginia, while allowing that Trump could have chosen his words more carefully.

— June 18, 2019: A news report alleges that Trump personal lawyer Michael Cohen attempted to get rid of purported compromising photos of the Falwells. The Falwells do not comment for the story, though he has denied the existence of such pictures.

— Aug. 27, 2019: Falwell is reported to have “personally approved” a Liberty land deal that benefited his personal trainer. The school defends the deal's propriety.

FILE - In this Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2016 file photo, Republican Vice Presidential candidate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, left, shakes hands with Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr., after speaking at the university in Lynchburg, Va. On Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2020, Falwell said that he has submitted his resignation as head of evangelical Liberty University. (AP PhotoSteve Helber)

— Sept. 9, 2019: In an explosive article in Politico, more than two dozen current and ex-university officials “describe a culture of fear and self-dealing” at the college.

— Sept. 10, 2019: In response, Falwell says he has asked the FBI to investigate what he calls a “criminal” smear campaign by disgruntled members of the university community.

— Sept. 13, 2019: Liberty students protest over the alleged improper benefits from university dealings.

FILE - In this Monday, Sept. 14, 2015 file photo, Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., left, talks with Liberty Univerisity president Jerry Falwell Jr., at the university in Lynchburg, Va. On Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2020, Falwell said that he has submitted his resignation as head of evangelical Liberty University. (AP PhotoSteve Helber)

— Oct. 7, 2019: Falwell agrees to pay an undisclosed amount of money to settle a federal lawsuit over a Florida real estate venture.

— May 27, 2020: Falwell tweets a picture of a mask bearing a racist photo and calls Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam “Governor Blackface,” a reference to an old yearbook page scandal that nearly forced Northam from office. Falwell’s post prompts nearly three dozen Black alumni of Liberty to call for his resignation. He later apologizes and deletes the tweet, and is endorsed by the board of trustees. Nevertheless, some Black student athletes announce transfer plans, and some Black faculty members resign.

— Aug. 7, 2020: Falwell goes on an indefinite leave of absence after posting a photo on social media of him and his wife’s pregnant assistant, both with their pants unzipped. Falwell says it was taken at a costume party. Critics call it evidence of hypocrisy by the head of an institution that holds students to a strict moral code of conduct.

FILE - In this May 22, 2007 file photo, Macel Falwell, second from left, wipes a tear as she and her son, Jerry Falwell Jr., left; daughter, Jeannie Savas; Jonathan Falwell, background second from right, and his wife, Shari Falwell, right, attend the funeral for the Rev. Jerry Falwell at the Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, Va. On Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2020, Jerry Falwell Jr. said that he has submitted his resignation as head of evangelical Liberty University. (AP PhotoSteve Helber, Pool)

—Aug. 23, 2020: Falwell issues a statement saying his wife had an extramarital affair and alleging that the man involved was threatening to “embarrass” the family and Liberty unless they paid him “substantial monies.”

— Aug. 24, 2020: Reuters publishes an interview with Giancarlo Granda, who says he had a long sexual relationship with Becki Falwell and that Jerry Falwell participated in some of the liaisons as a voyeur. Jerry Falwell has said Granda's version of events was false.

— Aug. 25, 2020: Falwell resigns as Liberty president, telling The Associated Press he doesn’t want “something my wife did to harm the school I’ve spent my whole life building,” and maintaining that he “never broke a single rule that applies to staff members at Liberty.”

FILE - In this March 1 1997 file photo, the Rev. Jerry Falwell crowd surfs held by students during the Big South Tournament semifinal basketball game at the Vines Center, at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va. On Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2020, his son, Jerry Falwell Jr., said that he has submitted his resignation as head of evangelical Liberty University. (Doug KoontzThe News & Advance via AP)

FILE - In this Saturday, May 19, 2007 file photo, Jerry Falwell Jr., new chancellor of Liberty University, speaks about his father, the Rev. Jerry Falwell, during his first graduation as the new chancellor of the university in Lynchburg, Va. On Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2020, Falwell Jr. said that he has submitted his resignation as head of evangelical Liberty University. (Jill NanceThe News & Advance via AP)

FILE - In this Sept. 11, 1987 file photo, the Rev. Jerry Falwell slides down the 'Killer Typhoon' waterslide at the Heritage USA water park in Fort Mill, S.C. On Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2020, his son, Jerry Falwell Jr. said that he has submitted his resignation as head of evangelical Liberty University. (Andy BurrissThe Herald via AP)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's photo portrait display at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery has had references to his two impeachments removed, the latest apparent change at the collection of museums he has accused of bias as he asserts his influence over how official presentations document U.S. history.

The wall text, which summarized Trump's first presidency and noted his 2024 comeback victory, was part of the museum's “American Presidents” exhibition. The description had been placed alongside a photograph of Trump taken during his first term. Now, a different photo appears without any accompanying text block, though the text was available online. Trump was the only president whose display in the gallery, as seen Sunday, did not include any extended text.

The White House did not say whether it sought any changes. Nor did a Smithsonian statement in response to Associated Press questions. But Trump ordered in August that Smithsonian officials review all exhibits before the nation celebrates the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence on July 4. The Republican administration said the effort would “ensure alignment with the president’s directive to celebrate American exceptionalism, remove divisive or partisan narratives, and restore confidence in our shared cultural institutions.”

Trump's original “portrait label," as the Smithsonian calls it, notes Trump's Supreme Court nominations and his administration's development of COVID-19 vaccines. That section concludes: “Impeached twice, on charges of abuse of power and incitement of insurrection after supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, he was acquitted by the Senate in both trials.”

Then the text continues: “After losing to Joe Biden in 2020, Trump mounted a historic comeback in the 2024 election. He is the only president aside from Grover Cleveland (1837– 1908) to have won a nonconsecutive second term.”

Asked about the display, White House spokesman Davis Ingle celebrated the new photograph, which shows Trump, brow furrowed, leaning over his Oval Office desk. Ingle said it ensures Trump's “unmatched aura ... will be felt throughout the halls of the National Portrait Gallery.”

The portrait was taken by White House photographer Daniel Torok, who is credited in the display that includes medallions noting Trump is the 45th and 47th president. Similar numerical medallions appear alongside other presidents' painted portraits that also include the more extended biographical summaries such as what had been part of Trump's display.

Sitting presidents are represented by photographs until their official paintings are commissioned and completed.

Ingle did not answer questions about whether Trump or a White House aide, on his behalf, asked for anything related to the portrait label.

The gallery said in a statement that it had previously rotated two photographs of Trump from its collection before putting up Torok's work.

“The museum is beginning its planned update of the America’s Presidents gallery which will undergo a larger refresh this Spring,” the gallery statement said. “For some new exhibitions and displays, the museum has been exploring quotes or tombstone labels, which provide only general information, such as the artist’s name.”

For now, references to Presidents Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton being impeached in 1868 and 1998, respectively, remain as part of their portrait labels, as does President Richard Nixon's 1974 resignation as a result of the Watergate scandal.

And, the gallery statement noted, “The history of Presidential impeachments continues to be represented in our museums, including the National Museum of American History.”

Trump has made clear his intentions to shape how the federal government documents U.S. history and culture. He has offered an especially harsh assessment of how the Smithsonian and other museums have featured chattel slavery as a seminal variable in the nation's development but also taken steps to reshape how he and his contemporary rivals are depicted.

In the months before his order for a Smithsonian review, he fired the head archivist of the National Archives and said he was firing the National Portrait Gallery's director, Kim Sajet, as part of his overhaul. Sajet maintained the backing of the Smithsonian's governing board, but she ultimately resigned.

At the White House, Trump has designed a notably partisan and subjective “Presidential Walk of Fame” featuring gilded photographs of himself and his predecessors — with the exception of Biden, who is represented by an autopen — along with plaques describing their presidencies.

The White House said at the time that Trump himself was a primary author of the plaques. Notably, Trump's two plaques praise the 45th and 47th president as a historically successful figure while those under Biden's autopen stand-in describe the 46th executive as “by far, the worst President in American History” who “brought our Nation to the brink of destruction.”

Barrow reported from Atlanta.

People react to a photograph of President Donald Trump on display at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery's "American Presidents" exhibit on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026 in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)

Visitors to the National Portrait Gallery walk past the portrait of President Donald Trump, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)

Visitors stop to look at a photograph of President Donald Trump and a short plaque next to it are on display at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery's "American Presidents" exhibit on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026 in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)

A photograph of President Donald Trump and a short plaque next to it are on display at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery's "American Presidents" exhibit on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026 in Washington. (AP Photo/Anna Johnson)

President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with oil executives in the East Room of the White House, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)