Pentagon Officials Confirm Staff Accidentally Damaged Historic Eisenhower Globe Intended for Pete Hegseth’s Office
Claim:
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s team broke one of former President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s historic globes while attempting to move it into Hegseth’s office.
Rating: True
(Context: News of the incident became public in October, but the mishap actually took place in February.)
Rumors began circulating in October that a team working for U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had accidentally damaged a valuable historical artifact within the Pentagon. According to social media reports, Hegseth had requested that one of former President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s historic World War II-era globes be relocated to his workspace. However, the crew assigned to move the piece dropped it during the process, resulting in significant damage.
Pentagon officials ultimately confirmed that the incident actually occurred.
The story first emerged on October 22 via a Washington Post report citing sources familiar with the situation. According to the publication, professional museum curators are normally tasked with moving historical objects inside the Pentagon. However, because history staffers were furloughed at the time due to a partial government shutdown—triggered by a congressional dispute over immigration policy funding—Hegseth’s staff decided to handle the relocation themselves on February 3.
Witnesses stated that Hegseth’s team lost control of the artifact, causing it to crash onto its base. The impact impaled the fragile outer shell near the Antarctic region, leaving a gash several inches wide, and photographs showed that the globe had completely detached from its rotating mount.
A Defense Department official verified the accuracy of the Washington Post report in an email statement, noting:
“An accident occurred while staff were transporting a replica of the Eisenhower globe as part of its relocation. Accidents happen, we are grateful no one was harmed, and the globe is being repaired. It is unsurprising that the Washington Post is once again dedicating time to another inconsequential non-story.”
The government shutdown that caused the absence of professional curators ended on the exact same day the globe was damaged. Ultimately, the artifact was never successfully moved into Hegseth’s office.
Historical signage accompanying the damaged piece notes that it was utilized by Dwight D. Eisenhower while he served on the General Staff as Chief of the War Plans Division (February to March 1942) and the Operations Division (March to June 1942). Eisenhower was famously fond of globes, and numerous historical photographs capture him posing near them throughout his career.