White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt firmly dismissed a call from a French Member of the European Parliament (MEP) to return the Statue of Liberty to France, Breitbart reports, while calling out the politician for severely irresponsible and arrogant remarks The demand came from French politician Raphael Glucksmann, a member of the Socialists and Democrats group, who made the severely out-of-touch claim that the U.S. no longer embodies the values the statue represents, noting freedom in particular.
During a White House press briefing, Fox News’ Peter Doocy inquired whether President Trump would consider sending the Statue of Liberty back to France, referencing Glucksmann’s remarks at a “Place Publique” leftist movement convention.
Glucksmann had stated, “Give us back the Statue of Liberty. 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.”
“There is now a member of the European parliament from France, who does not think the U.S. represents the values of the Statue of Liberty anymore, they want the Statue of Liberty back, so is President Trump going to send the Statue of Liberty back?” Doocy asked Leavitt.
“Absolutely not,” Leavitt responded to Doocy’s question. “And, 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. So, they should be very grateful to our great country.”
The Statue of Liberty, designed by Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi, was a gift from France to the United States. It arrived in New York on June 17, 1886, and was assembled on what was then Bedloe’s Island after the completion of its pedestal. President Grover Cleveland oversaw the statue’s dedication on October 28, 1886.