I think it's really interesting that you point out how smaller institutions, while we think of them as scrappy and innovative, probably do not have to answer to large public backlash as much as larger, more visible institutions do.

I think the difference lies in how quickly these institutions can respond to interpretation issues. For example, the Tenement Museum (what I would term a medium institution) was able to completely modify their tours and interpretive script to respond to the Trump administration's threats to open immigration. Their tours are entirely staff led and don't require a ton of materials to be moved/exhibit text to be changed. Larger institutions, though better funded, would have to alter their largely permanent exhibits to achieve the same relevancy.