Americans could soon be without arguably their most famous landmark after one French politician has demanded its return, citing the recent actions of US President Donald Trump as the reason why they want it back.
Mount Rushmore, the Golden Gate Bridge, and the Hollywood Sign are all landmarks that instantly come to your mind when you think of America, but perhaps nothing screams the United States more than the Statue of Liberty.
Standing tall and proud upon Liberty Island off the coast of New York City, the Statue of Liberty was a gift from the people of France in 1884 to celebrate the strong friendship between the two countries.
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France's 'Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité' and America's position as the 'Land of the Free' appear perfectly matched at a first glance, and there's no better symbol of that than Lady Liberty herself - yet one French politician now believes that strong bond to be broken, as per the Daily Mail.
Speaking at a Place Publique party conference, French MEP Raphaël Glucksmann argued that the United States should return the Statue of Liberty over 140 years after it was initially gifted.
"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'," claimed Glucksmann, adding that "we gave it to you as a gift, but apparently you despise it. So it will be just fine here at home."
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Within Glucksmann's argument lies a number of recent political moves by the Trump administration within the last few months, including their pushback against Ukraine and the work of the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in cutting key research funding.
President Trump and Vice President JD Vance were particularly antagonistic towards Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy upon the latter's visit to the White House, and it's inferred that 'siding with the tyrants' is a reference to Trump's seeming move to ally with Russia in the conflict.
Additionally, Musk has pushed for the United States government to withdraw from NATO - effectively ending their support for Europe in the case of a wide scale Russian invasion - which is something that France in particular is understandably not too happy about.
Additionally, Glucksmann also criticizes the actions of DOGE in their ruthless cost-cutting efforts, which have also drawn the ire from the Royal Society and the wider scientific community.
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Musk also isn't exactly in France's good books following accusations from French president Emmanuel Macron that he 'broke the law' through election interference.
This was spurred on by billionaire tech mogul's keen support of German right wing party AfD - which he has been criticized for by the head of a concentration camp memorial site - in addition to his social media tirade against the UK government, which also included threats of an invasion.
Unfortunately for Glucksmann, it looks like America isn't entirely on board with his attempts to reclaim the Statue of Liberty, as White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has issued a 'scathing' response, as per the New York Post:
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"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," remarked Leavitt.
This is of course a reference to America's role in the Second World War, with Leavitt arguing that had the US army not intervened, France would have been taken over by Nazi forces and would remain under their control to this day.
Who would have thought that a somewhat flippant comment about the Statue of Liberty could potentially spiral into tension-filled jabs from the White House itself? Good thing that the French government doesn't still have a receipt.