A close ally of Donald Trump has hit out at a “low-level” French politician after he boldly demanded that the US hand back the Statue of Liberty since America has sided “with tyrants”.
The iconic statue was gifted to America in 1886 to commemorate the centennial of Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence and to celebrate France’s close relationship with America.
However, a mischievous French MEP has said that the US should return Lady Liberty imminently because “Americans have chosen to side with the tyrants”.
Providing a scathing response, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said: “My advice to that unnamed low-level French politician would be to remind them that it’s only because of the United States Of America that the French are not speaking German right now.”
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She added that they should be “very grateful”.
Centre-left French MEP Raphaël Glucksmann, who belongs to the Socialists and Democrats group, told his party’s convention: “We’re going to say to the Americans who have chosen to side with the tyrants, to the Americans who fired researchers for demanding scientific freedom: ‘Give us back the Statue of Liberty.'”
“We gave it to you as a gift, but apparently you despise it. So it will be just fine here at home,” Glucksmann joked.
Glucksmann’s comments reportedly came in response to Washington’s previous decision to pause military support and aid for Ukraine following Donald Trump’s and Volodymyr Zelensky’s astonishing bust-up in the White House at the end of February.
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The US President’s criticism of the Ukrainian leader in the Oval Office left Europe speechless, sparking alarm throughout the continent at Trump’s next step navigating the war on Ukraine.
Delivering his speech, Glucksmann added that France might benefit from Americans who end up being fired in the White House’s federal cull to streamline the organisation.
He said: “The second thing we’re going to say to the Americans is: ‘If you want to fire your best researchers, if you want to fire all the people who, through their freedom and their sense of innovation, their taste for doubt and research, have made your country the world’s leading power, then we’re going to welcome them’.”
The centre-left politician also hit out at hard-right leaders in his country and claimed that they were simply a “fan club” for Trump and tech tycoon Elon Musk.
The centre-left politician also hit out at far-right leaders in his country and claimed that they were a “fan club” from Trump and tech tycoon Elon Musk
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At the base of the statue, an inscription reads: “Give me your tired, your poor. Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”
It has been reported that given Trump and his team are eager to conduct mass deportations of illegal migrants – partnered with a broad array of restrictions on more than 40 countries – the words above no longer align with the new Trump administration.
The statue was first unveiled in New York City harbour in 1886 to celebrate the long-standing relationship between the two nations.
Paris already has a smaller version of Lady Liberty on a miniature island along the Seine.