White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt delivered a brutal takedown after a far-left French politician called for Donald Trump to return the Statue of Liberty.
Leavitt was asked about the provocative comments by French Socialist MEP Raphaël Glucksmann at Monday’s White House briefing.
She said President Donald Trump would ‘absolutely not’ be giving the statue in New York Harbor back to France.
Leavitt added: ‘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.’
Leavitt’s touché happened after the pro-Ukraine Frenchman said Americans ‘have chosen to switch to the side of the tyrants.’
The left-wing lawmaker was seemingly referring to Trump’s position on the Ukraine-Russia conflict, as well as the DOGE cuts that are tearing through the U.S. government.
It marked the latest transatlantic spat of Trump’s early second term.
Speaking at a party convention, Glucksmann told a French crowd: ‘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.’
He also said France would welcome any exiled U.S. scientists.
The government of France famously gifted the statue to the U.S. 140 years ago as a sign of friendship between the two nations.
Leavitt’s line was a reference to U.S. heroism liberating France from Nazi occupation during World War II.
And it was just the latest instance of the White House using its communications team to hammer political opponents.
Earlier Monday, the official White House X account posted a video of alleged gang members being handcuffed and deported from the U.S. to El Salvador over links with violent Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt blasted a ‘low-level French politician’ when an MP referenced taking back the Statue of Liberty, saying Americans ‘have chosen to switch to the side of the tyrants’
It featured music from the band Semisonic’s hit ‘Closing Time’ and included the line: ‘You don’t have to go home but you can’t stay here.’
Asked about use of the video, Leavitt responded: ‘And the specific video you referenced, I think it sums up our immigration policy pretty well. You don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here,’ she said with a smile.
She also confirmed during her briefing that when President Trump talks to Russian President Vladimir Putin Tuesday, the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant will be under discussion.
It has been a source of fighting during Russia’s invasion and lies deep within Ukrainian territory. Trump said Sunday there had been talk about ‘dividing up certain assets.’
Trump’s negotiator Steve Witkoff, who recently met with Putin, mentioned a ‘nuclear reactor’ during a weekend appearance on CBS, along with the Black Sea and port access.
Leavitt’s remarks about France come at a time of severe tensions, with the European Commission imposing tariffs on U.S. products in response to Trump’s tariff on steel and aluminum.
Trump has hit France and EU countries by putting a 200 percent tariff on ‘wines, champagne and alcoholic products.’
The French gifted the Statue of Liberty to the United States in 1884, and it was unveiled in New York two years later.
Since then, it has become synonymous with the city and is a major tourist attraction.
Speaking at a party convention, Glucksmann told the crowd he believes some Americans have chosen to side with the tyrants
European nations have responded with horror to Trump’s decision to suspend military funding for Ukraine amid tense peace negotiations with Russia, facilitated by the United States.
The situation exploded during a meeting at the White House between Trump and Ukrainian leader Voloymyr Zelensky.
Trump and Vice President JD Vance hosted Zelensky with the intention of signing a minerals deal which would grant the United States access to key Ukrainian resources in exchange for the past and ongoing military aid to help fight the Russian invasion.
However, the meeting imploded and was abruptly ended, with the US leader and his VP criticizing Zelensky for failing to show enough gratitutude for the tens of billions of dollars America has already funneled into the war.
After the meeting, Trump introduced a freeze on all funding and some intelligence sharing.
Glucksmann is a staunch defender of Ukraine, making the issue the number one priority of his 2024 campaign.
He is the son of a French philosopher and was raised among a privileged cosmopolitan community near Paris.
In 2014, he described himself as a ‘revolution consultant’, writing and crafting speeches for boxer turned mayor of Kyiv Vitali Klitschko.
At the time, Glucksmann was living in Ukraine.
The left-wing politician was seemingly referring to Trump’s position on the Ukraine-Russia conflict
Before the statue was shipped across the Atlantic, it was fully assembled in a public park in Paris, to test how the structure would hold up. During those years, Parisians affectionately referred to the sculpture as the ‘Lady of the Park’. Pictured, the Statue of Liberty towering over rooftops in Paris after it was first completed in 1884.
‘We gave it to you as a gift, but apparently you despise it. So it will be just fine here at home,’ said Glucksmann
During the same controversial speech as the Statue of Liberty remark, Glucksmann issued a second message directly to Americans.
‘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,’ he said.
There have long been quips about whether France would ever formally request the Statue of Liberty be returned, or if the Trump administration admires what she stands for.
One Reddit user recently said: ‘There’s maybe $230,000 worth of scrap copper in there. I’m surprised DOGE hasn’t had it melted down yet.’
Billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has been tasked with rooting out wasteful spending.
Another said: ‘In that scenario I think Trump would say ”Sure. It’s yours. Come pick it up. We are going to start charging you a $1 billion/day warehouse fee staring tomorrow”.’
Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron enjoyed a widely-reported bromance during Trump’s first term.
Photographs of them holding hands and grinning in the White House Rose Garden accompanied every story about U.S.-French relations.
Le bromance! Behind-the-scenes during Macron and Trump’s showdown
‘He is perfect,’ Trump said in 2018.
And after winning the 2024 race to return to the White House, Trump doubled down on his admiration of France, describing the nation as ‘our oldest ally, and one of our greatest.’
Even when tensions were high, as they were then over keeping the U.S. in the Iran nuclear deal, their personal chemistry kept the diplomacy ticking over.
Macron had impressed Trump with the full military pomp of the Bastille Day parade, which encouraged the American president to think about having his own display of armed might.
So Macron was considered the perfect messenger from Europe to travel to the White House in an effort last month to gently remind Trump that Russian aggression threatened much more than just Ukraine.
‘I think a lot of progress has been made. We’ve had some very good talks,’ Trump said after the meeting. ‘We’re trying to get the war ended.’
The friendship between the United States and France dates back to 1778. France was the first nation to develop diplomatic ties with America.
But, more recently, the U.S. and France clashed over the handling of the Iraq war.
