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Pete Hegseth’s staff break priceless historic globe he requested for office (www.theguardian.com)

submitted 3 days ago by Corvidae@lemmy.world to c/news@lemmy.world

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A priceless pre-second world war globe coveted by the US defence secretary Pete Hegseth for his office in the Pentagon was damaged by his staff in a botched attempt to relocate it, army officials have admitted.

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[-] dogslayeggs@lemmy.world 160 points 3 days ago

Look, I'm the last person to judge them breaking something. I am clumsy and careless and break shit all the time.

But it's just so perfectly emblematic of Republicans. They look at this old globe of the world how it was 80 years ago and think it's so nice and they should have it for themselves... and then they break it out of carelessness.

[-] aramis87@fedia.io 95 points 3 days ago

There's actually a department in charge of moving historical stuff like this, precisely so it doesn't get broken, but no, he just sent his thugs over to grab it ...

[-] cantstopthesignal@sh.itjust.works 9 points 3 days ago

I soooo hope this was some "OK Boss" military malicious compliance kind of shit.

[-] a_non_monotonic_function@lemmy.world 22 points 2 days ago

The first paragraph dismisses the context though.

They were told by historians that it required special care to move, not some jackass, that they called down from maintenance.

[-] takeda@lemmy.dbzer0.com 10 points 2 days ago

Why would he even want that? It's not like he even knows how to use it.

[-] Taldan@lemmy.world 10 points 2 days ago

"An accident occurred while staff were transporting a replica of the Eisenhower globe as part of its relocation,” the official’s statement said.

“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

If it were simply a replica, they wouldn't be spending all the time and effort to repair it

Scary how blatant the propaganda is now

[-] ceenote@lemmy.world 86 points 3 days ago

What it's supposed to look like:

What it now looks like:

[-] panda_abyss@lemmy.ca 62 points 3 days ago

He definitely thought he could store booze inside that thing.

[-] Rocketpoweredgorilla@lemmy.ca 15 points 3 days ago

The camera angles there make it look like it got a foot shorter too lol!

[-] AliasVortex@lemmy.world 38 points 3 days ago

It's not just a camera angle, the globe isn't sitting in the cradle like it should be.

The metal band that runs the circumference of the sphere is supposed to fill the grooves in the base and rest on the nub by the floor. In the new picture you can see the band sitting lower and sitting in the groove and running in front of the nub on the base. I'd almost put money on the band getting bent and working out of its intended track causing the wood nub to get mashed into the plaster-like surface (guessing by the debris on the floor) of the globe.

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[-] Vince@lemmy.world 80 points 3 days ago

A bit too on the nose there

[-] JustPlainDave@lemmy.zip 20 points 3 days ago

The writers are really phoning it in this season.

[-] BeMoreCareful@lemmy.world 45 points 2 days ago

What's the word for when metaphors become reality?

[-] 0x0@infosec.pub 14 points 2 days ago

womp womp

[-] modus@lemmy.world 5 points 2 days ago

MAGA

[-] HugeNerd@lemmy.ca 11 points 2 days ago

What is it with this guy and big balls?

[-] Lushed_Lungfish@lemmy.ca 5 points 2 days ago

One desires that which one does not possess.

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[-] AliasVortex@lemmy.world 40 points 3 days ago

“An accident occurred while staff were transporting a replica of the Eisenhower globe as part of its relocation,” the official’s statement said.

“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.”

(Emphasis mine). Wow, just wow. It'd be an accident and non-story if they broke the copy machine or dropped a TV, but the whole point of historical artifacts is that they can't just be replaced. I'd say it makes my blood boil, but let's be real, it was already boiling, this is just fuel to the fire.

[-] cecilkorik@piefed.ca 20 points 3 days ago

while staff were transporting a replica of the Eisenhower globe

So like, is it a replica of an Eisenhower globe or is it an Eisenhower globe? I feel like that is a pretty significant asterisk here, and kind of significantly changes the narrative. Someone's lying, and as a matter of principle I'm inclined to believe it's Hegseth, but I'd like to know what's actually broken. I don't give a shit if Hegseth breaks his own toys, and if he broke a replica that can be replaced. But he seems to be the only one claiming this is a "replica", as far as anyone else seems to know, including plaques installed at the globe's original location this appears to be an actual globe used by Eisenhower, not a replica.

[-] Manjushri@piefed.social 15 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

It is either a replica or it is the Eisenhower globe, not an Eisenhower globe. The article reports that it is the priceless globe that Eisenhower used to in planning D-Day that was dropped onto its base and shattered. Kegsbreath's spokesman is trying to claim that it was only a replica. Typical bullshit lie to try and hide their incompetence.

[-] Stormy@thelemmy.club 7 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

It's just another rare thing they're destroying like the memorials, the US military, the social cohesion.

[-] AliasVortex@lemmy.world 7 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

That's a good point! I saw the bit about a moving company being qualified to move the globe and totally missed the (alleged) replica part. I agree though, the current administration doesn't strike me as the type to "settle" for a replica, not when they could say the word and have the original 1 of 1 thing.

[-] MojoMcJojo@lemmy.world 9 points 2 days ago

If you go to the original source of the story, wash Post, it's not a replica, it's one of three total Eisenhower globes. No where in there is the word replica.

[-] Maeve@kbin.earth 7 points 2 days ago

So are they lying about it being a replica, or is the replica priceless?

[-] Test_Tickles@lemmy.world 4 points 2 days ago

They lie compulsively. They lie when it doesn't even benefit them. There is really no reason to ever assume that they are not lying.

[-] nullspace@lemmy.world 35 points 3 days ago

So he broke it and blamed the intern.

[-] tigeruppercut@lemmy.zip 35 points 2 days ago

He probably tried to crack it open to see if there were any historic bottles of booze inside

[-] FuglyDuck@lemmy.world 8 points 2 days ago

probably could smell the whiskey and old cigars.

[-] SkyezOpen@lemmy.world 6 points 2 days ago

Look, he may not be good at much but if he smells booze in an old globe then by God I believe there's booze in that globe.

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[-] newthrowaway20@lemmy.world 10 points 2 days ago

Interesting this leaked now. It happened months ago.

[-] NikkiDimes@lemmy.world 6 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

"Pay no attention to the president EUGHing and JEEIGHing during his rallies, please divert your attention to ball"

[-] MehBlah@lemmy.world 20 points 2 days ago

Nothing is sacred and nothing is safe from the looting.

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[-] wangaBanga@feddit.online 34 points 3 days ago

Like something straight out of The Great Dictator. But that's just life in the Clown's Age.

[-] Sunschein@piefed.social 27 points 3 days ago

[-] zeppo@lemmy.world 34 points 3 days ago

Right up there with the orange painted cretin throwing White House sterling silverware in the trash

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[-] Eternal192@anarchist.nexus 25 points 3 days ago

This perfectly describes the current government, everything they touch they break or everything they touch falls apart kinda sounds better.

[-] dermanus@lemmy.ca 7 points 2 days ago

Not even that. They had people to do it right, but they had fired them so they did a rush job themselves and fucked it up.

If it were fiction you'd call the author a hack.

[-] CrimeIsLegalNow@ani.social 9 points 2 days ago

Way too many of you are assuming it's actually broken and not stolen.

[-] FlyingCircus@lemmy.world 9 points 2 days ago

My theory is that Pete Kegsbreath drunkenly stumbled into it and knocked it down, and now he’s blaming his staff as cover.

[-] NateNate60@lemmy.world 30 points 3 days ago

DUI hire

[-] melsaskca@lemmy.ca 5 points 2 days ago

They can't even move a stationary globe while not being fired upon. I wonder how they'll do in war? /s

[-] deacon@lemmy.world 8 points 2 days ago

The writers are just phoning it in now.

[-] Denfa@lemmy.world 8 points 2 days ago

My bet on this is Hegseth commandeered it from the Smithsonian and broke it when he drunkenly showed it off.

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[-] darthsundhaft@piefed.social 8 points 3 days ago

Release the Epstein files FFS

[-] ApeNo1@lemmy.world 8 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

He was probably trying to flatten it as he knows the world isn’t really a globe.

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this post was submitted on 22 Oct 2026

505 points (97.9% liked)

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