Home » History » President Dwight D. Eisenhower Kept Silent About Joseph McCarthy in Public. However, He Started a Secret Campaign That Eventually Ended the Senator’s Career.
Dwight Eisenhower

President Dwight D. Eisenhower Kept Silent About Joseph McCarthy in Public. However, He Started a Secret Campaign That Eventually Ended the Senator’s Career.

Dwight David Ike Eisenhower was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th President of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During WWII, he was the Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force in Europe and was promoted to the five-star rank of General of the Army. But did you know how Eisenhower ended Joseph McCarthy’s career?

Despite his public silence on Joseph McCarthy, President Dwight D. Eisenhower launched a covert campaign that ended the Senator’s career.

Dwight Eisenhower versus Joseph McCarthy

Even though they were both Republicans and campaigned together briefly in 1952, former President Dwight D. Eisenhower was not a big fan of Joseph McCarthy.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower loathed Senator Joseph McCarthy as much as any human being could possibly loathe another. 

Milton Eisenhower, Dwight Eisenhower’s Brother

Eisenhower refused to criticize McCarthy publicly, telling aides that he would not get into the gutter with that guy. Instead, he launched a covert campaign to undermine McCarthy’s influence. Far from appeasing McCarthy, as his critics claimed at the time, Eisenhower played a significant role in his fellow Republicans’ demise. (Source: Biography

Dwight Eisenhower’s Presidency

Eisenhower retired from active duty in 1952 and returned to Abilene to run for the Republican Party nomination. Eisenhower was elected the 34th President of the United States on November 4, 1952, after winning the election by a landslide. His domestic policies continued where Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal and Harry Truman’s Fair Deal left off. Eisenhower made reducing Cold War tensions through military negotiation a priority of his administration’s foreign policy.

In 1953, he oversaw an armistice that brought peace to the border of South Korea. That year, Eisenhower also delivered his famous Atoms for Peace speech at the United Nations General Assembly. The United States and Russia had recently developed atomic bombs, and the speech advocated using atomic energy for peaceful purposes rather than weaponry and warfare. Eisenhower met with Russian, British, and French leaders in Geneva in 1955 to discuss ways to reduce the threat of nuclear war.

Among his accomplishments during his two terms were the establishment of the US Information Agency, as well as the recognition of Alaska and Hawaii as states. During his presidency, Eisenhower also advocated for establishing the Interstate Highway System. Other accomplishments include signing the 1957 Civil Rights Act and establishing a permanent Civil Rights Commission. Eisenhower also signed the bill that established the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). (Source: Biography

The Death of Former President Dwight Eisenhower

After his presidency, Eisenhower retired to a farmhouse in Gettysburg with his wife, Mamie. Although he resigned from his general commission when he became president, his successor, President John F. Kennedy, reactivated it when he left office. For the rest of his life, he maintained an office at Gettysburg College, where he held meetings and wrote his memoirs. (Source: Biography

Fun Facts About Dwight Eisenhower

Aside from the issue with McCarthy, Dwight Eisenhower was quite an interesting president.

Dwight Eisenhower Banished the White House’s Squirrels Because they Were Ruining His Putting Green

Since Eisenhower was an active golfer, an outdoor putting green was installed outside the Oval Office. The squirrels around the White House grounds continually dug up the putting green to hide their acorns and walnuts. Eisenhower was not too happy about this that he had his valet shoot them. The Secret Service avoided using guns and had the ground keepers trap the squirrels and release them to Rock Creek Park. 

Dwight Eisenhower was the First President to Ride in a Helicopter

The Secret Serivce approved the use of helicopters as a safer and more efficient way of traveling for short trips from the White House. On July 12, 1957, Eisenhower became the first President to ride a helicopter. He rode on a two-passenger Bell H-13J Helicopter to Camp David. 

(Source: History)

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