US-French relations tested after White House responds to Statue of Liberty comments
US-French relations tested after White House responds to Statue of Liberty comments
The Daily Digest
Story by thedailydigest.com
23/03/2026
백악관이 자유의 여신상 발언에 대응한 후 시험대에 오른 미국-프랑스 관계
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23/03/2026
Leavitt's comments were jaw-dropping
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stirred controversy with her response to a query about a French politician's suggestion to reclaim the Statue of Liberty, placing the Trump administration in a contentious position.
레빗의 말은 입이 떡 벌어지는 것이었다
캐롤라인 레빗 백악관 대변인이 자유의 여신상 반환 제안에 대한 프랑스 정치인의 질문에 대한 답변으로 논란을 불러일으켜 트럼프 행정부를 논란의 여지가 있는 입장에 놓았다.
How the incident began
On March 16th, the French Member of the European Parliament Raphaël Glucksmann suggested during a convention of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats Party (S&D) that his party would ask the US to return the Statue of Liberty.
A comment in jest
“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,’” Glucksmann said jokingly according to Politico.
The statue was a gift©Provided by The Daily Digest
“We gave it to you as a gift, but apparently you despise it. So it will be just fine here at home,” Glucksmann said according to France24, which noted that the Statue of Liberty was given to the United States by France as a gift in 1886.
Glucksmann made headlines
Glucksmann’s comment made headlines fairly quickly and Politico reported that it was likely in response to Washington’s decision to halt aid to Ukraine. Whatever prompted the statement, it didn’t go over well with Trump’s White House Press Secretary.
In the briefing room
According to Mediaite, Fox News reporter Peter Doocy questioned Leavitt about the situation, saying: “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.”
Attacking Glucksmann
Leavitt responded by attacking Glucksmann before she went on to say that the French politician should be thanking the United States for saving France from the Germans in World War II. However, she wasn’t very tactful about it.
The US saved France from Germany
“Absolutely not,” Leavitt told Doocy. “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."
They should be grateful
“So they should be very grateful to our great country,” Leavitt added. It should be noted that Leavitt is the official spokesperson for the White House and Trump's administration and her comments were a profound departure from international decorum.
A bit of history
Mediaite noted in its reporting that France, particularly the French Navy, was critical for the success of US forces in the Revolutionary War and American independence. The treaty that ended the war was signed in Paris in 1783.
Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By John Trumbull, Public Domain.
French politician suggests US should give back Statue of Liberty for taking ‘the side of the tyrants’
By Jack Guy, CNN
Updated 1:23 PM EDT, Tue March 18, 2025
Raphael Glucksmann pictured on stage at Sunday's rally.
Magali Cohen/Hans
On March 16th, the French Member of the European Parliament Raphaël Glucksmann suggested during a convention of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats Party (S&D) that his party would ask the US to return the Statue of Liberty.
CNN —
A French politician has called on the US to give the Statue of Liberty back after suggesting that some Americans “have chosen to switch to the side of the tyrants.”
Raphael Glucksmann, a member of the European Parliament who represents the small left-wing party Place Publique, made the comments at a rally on Sunday (On March 16th).
“Give us back the Statue of Liberty,” said Glucksmann. “It was our gift to you. But apparently you despise her.”
The Statue of Liberty as it is seen today in New York City.
Pamela Smith/AP
The statue was a gift of friendship to America from France. Inaugurated in 1886, it represents Libertas, the Roman liberty goddess, bearing a torch in her right hand and a tablet in her left hand with the date of the US Declaration of Independence.
Broken shackles lie underneath the statue’s drapery, to symbolize the end of all types of servitude and oppression.
이 동상은 프랑스가 미국에 우호의 선물로 준 것입니다. 1886년에 개장한 이 동상은 로마의 자유의 여신 리베르타스를 상징하며, 오른손에는 횃불을, 왼손에는 미국 독립 선언 날짜가 적힌 명판을 들고 있습니다. 부서진 족쇄는 모든 유형의 예속과 억압의 종식을 상징하기 위해 동상의 휘장 아래에 놓여 있습니다.
On Monday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt fired back at Glucksmann.
“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,” she said.
“이름이 알려지지 않은 그 프랑스 하급 정치인에게 제가 조언하는 것은 프랑스인들이 지금 독일어를 사용하지 않는 것은 단지 미국 때문이므로 그들은 우리 위대한 조국에 매우 감사해야 한다는 것을 그들에게 상기시키는 것입니다.”라고 그녀는 말했습니다.
U.S. rejects French politician's Statue of Liberty return request
NPR
https://www.npr.org › 2025/03/18 › nx-s1-5332084 › s...
4 days ago — A French politician suggested the two countries no longer share the values that inspired the gift more than a century ago.