Eisenhower Library director ousted after refusing to give Trump administration a historic sword

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

Eisenhower Library director ousted after refusing to give Trump administration a sword | KCUR - Kansas City news and NPR

https://www.kcur.org/politics-elections-and-government/2025-10-02/director-of-eisenhower-library-in-kansas-ousted-after-refusing-to-give-trump-administration-a-sword

The director of the presidential library and museum in Abilene, Kansas, said he was suddenly told to resign or be fired. He refused to give the Trump administration a historic sword from the museum’s collection.
The former director of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library in Abilene, Kansas, said on Thursday that he was told to “resign or be fired” from his post after refusing to give the Trump administration a historic sword.

Todd Arrington’s resignation came shortly after Arrington refused to relinquish one of President Eisenhower’s swords from the museum’s collection. President Trump’s administration wanted to give one of the artifacts as a gift to King Charles III on Trump’s most recent state visit to the United Kingdom.

Arrington said his direct superior informed him on Monday evening that he would be asked to resign. The supervisor, who Arrington declined to name, said he was passing down orders from unknown higher-ups.

All Arrington heard is that he “could no longer be trusted with confidential information” due to conduct related to the sword disagreement.

[montanacowboy]

1. Can you fucking believe this?

DUMP wanted to give away a sword from Eisenhower's library? This thief, this criminal is now going to start giving away items from presidential libraries?

[Cha]

2. KIck

[markodochartaigh]

3. Am

I misremembering, or were there things missing after Trump left the Whitehouse the first time.
"L'état est à moi."

The state is mine.

[DFW]

4. I can imagine the sword Trump wanted

He wanted the sword that Hitler presented to Eisenhower when he surrendered at Appomattox Courthouse in 1945.

[Totally Tunsie]

5. ???

[DFW]

7. From the Trumpian book of world history. N/t

[Totally Tunsie]

8. LOL - Well, I guess that explains just about everything!

The world according to trump...

[WarGamer]

10. On the deck of the Bismarck.

[DFW]

11. Or the Missouri

Or the Bounty, take yer pick.

[peggysue2]

6. Disgraceful!

Arrington was fired for doing his job, in this case preventing Trump from stealing a historic item in the Eisenhower Library. Because . . .
Someone had the audacity to say NO to the Thief-in-Chief.

Delicate fee-fees. Fragile ego.

Good one on NPR in Kansas City for exposing this petty and vindictive response from the Rump Administration.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

9. MaddowBlog-The ridiculous reason Team Trump fired the director of the Eisenhower library

Todd Arrington, the director of the Eisenhower library, was forced out of his job for having done the right thing. He’s hardly alone.

The ridiculous reason Team Trump fired the director of the Eisenhower library

Ahead of Donald Trump’s recent state visit to Britain, the president apparently wanted to present King Charles with some kind of gift, and administration officials settled on something related to Dwight Eisenhower. (Eis

— @billspaced (@billspaced.com) 2025-10-03T17:11:47.297Z

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/eisenhower-library-director-fired-sword-trump-charles-rcna235395

Ahead of Donald Trump’s recent state visit to Britain, the president apparently wanted to present King Charles with some kind of gift, and administration officials settled on something related to Dwight Eisenhower. (Eisenhower, of course, led the Allied forces in World War II before getting elected to the White House.)

The New York Times reported what happened next:

Through a personal email address, an administration official approached the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum, and Boyhood Home in Abilene, Kan., which has at least one Eisenhower sword in its collection, given to him in 1947 by Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands. But the library declined to release it or any other original artifact in its collection, on the grounds that they are the property of the U.S. government, which the library is obligated by law to preserve for the American public.

...Rather, what makes this story extraordinary is that Todd Arrington, the director of the Eisenhower library, was soon after forced out of his job.

Technically, Arrington resigned, but he told the Times that it was not voluntary. “I never imagined that I would be fired from almost 30 years of government service for this,” he said......

In the case regarding the Eisenhower sword, Arrington received an email from a State Department liaison (she used a “giftgirl2025” address) who said that the administration was looking for “like a sword or something.” Arrington, well aware of the fact that it would’ve been illegal to give away U.S. property, declined. His punishment came soon after.

This is, alas, a familiar dynamic. A prosecutor does the right thing by refusing to bring a corrupt indictment? He’s fired. An IRS official does the right thing by refusing to cooperate with a legally dubious DOGE request? He’s fired. A presidential librarian does the right thing by refusing to turn over a sword to be used as a foreign gift? He’s fired.

The message to federal officials everywhere is hardly subtle: When confronted with improper requests, your career will likely come to an abrupt end if the White House doesn’t like your answer.