US must return Statue of Liberty back to France – MEP

Raphael Glucksmann has claimed that Americans “apparently despise” the gift that symbolizes freedom

French Member of the European Parliament Raphael Glucksmann has urged the United States to return the Statue of Liberty, claiming that recent policy shifts under President Donald Trump contradict the fundamental values the monument represents.

The Statue of Liberty, designed by French sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi and built by Gustave Eiffel, was gifted to the US to commemorate the centennial of American independence. Since 1886, it has stood in New York Harbor as a symbol of freedom and a beacon for immigrants seeking a better life.

Glucksmann, a center-left MEP and staunch supporter of Ukraine, expressed his disapproval of Trump’s policies, including a push to mediate peace between Moscow and Kiev, accusing the US leader of “siding with tyrants” during a convention of his Place Publique party on Sunday.

“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,” he told a cheering crowd, as cited by Le Monde.

We gave it to you as a gift, but apparently you despise it. So it will be just fine here at home.

Since taking office in January, Trump has made a strong push to overhaul US government agencies in a bid to eliminate wasteful state spending. Besides launching a crackdown on illegal immigration and blocking foreign aid initiatives that do not align with his “America first” policy, Trump’s executive orders have also targeted federal grants for climate research and gender studies.

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“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, their sense of innovation, and their taste for doubt and research, have made your country the world’s leading power, then we’re going to welcome them,” Glucksmann stated.

The son of the late philosopher Andre Glucksmann, he took part in the Maidan coup in Kiev in 2013, after working as an adviser to former Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili for over five years. He has also criticized EU leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron – one of Ukraine’s strongest backers – for providing what he considers “insufficient” support for Kiev.