Paris (The Loose Nukes): A French politician said his country should offer asylum to the Statue of Liberty out of concern for President Donald Trump's destruction of the remaining shreds of American democracy.
Raphaël Glucksmann, a member of the European Parliament and co-president of a small left-wing party in France, asserted in a speech last weekend that some Americans “have chosen to switch to the side of the tyrants” reflecting the broad shockwaves that U.S. President Donald Trump’s seismic shifts in foreign and domestic policy are triggering in France and elsewhere in Europe.
“Give us back the Statue of Liberty,” Glucksmann told supporters of his Public Place party, who applauded and whistled, on Sunday. “It was our gift to you. But apparently you despise her. So she will be happy and free here with us,” Glucksmann said.
"Absolutely not," said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt in a briefing Monday when asked if the U.S. would give it back. "My advice to that unnamed, low-level French scum 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 on their knees, bowing to our great country."
Glucksmann, in turn, shot back that French gratitude for Americans’ wartime sacrifices is “eternal,” but added: “If the free world no longer interests your government, then we will take up the torch, here in Europe.”
“Our gratitude to these heroes (referring to the D-Day invasion of Normandy) and their sacrifices is therefore eternal,” he wrote. “But the America of these heroes fought against tyrants, it did not flatter them. It was the enemy of fascism, not the friend of Putin... It welcomed the persecuted and didn’t target them... It celebrated science and didn’t fire researchers for using banned words... It was far, so far from what your current president does, says and embodies.”
“No one, of course, will come and steal the Statue of Liberty,” he wrote in X posts. “The statue is yours. But what it embodies belongs to everyone, and not just to your White Christian Nationalists.”
President Trump seemed confused by the French wanting their statue back. During an Oval Office meeting he was overheard asking a staffer, “What is this about the French giving us the Statue of Liberty? I thought we built it.”
On his social media channel, Truth Social, Trump fired back, “Hey Frenchy, we know a hell of a lot more about Freedom than you; just look at our revolution! While we were fighting for our freedom from the overlords, you were busy learning how to make shitty souffles.”
Lady Liberty — full name "Liberty Enlightening the World" — was conceptualized by French anti-slavery activist Édouard de Laboulaye in 1865 to honor the centennial of the U.S. Declaration of Independence and its friendship with France, whose support helped win the American Revolution.
It has endured as a global symbol of freedom, patriotism and democracy — and the lack thereof — in the decades since, until now.
Trump was asked about the iconic statue during an appearance on Fox and Friends.
“Oh, I love the Statue of Liberty. I mean, really love her. She's a very beautiful woman; I mean, a real looker; maybe a little overdressed; could you imagine her in a red, white and blue bikini. Wow; now that would really be something, something really great, just like how great this country will be once I get rid of all the bad people. Some very bad people that don't belong in our great country.
The previous president, he was a very stupid person and a very bad president. We had levels of violence and crime, and a lot of it had to do with the illegal immigrants that came in. And remember when I used to complain about it? Because I knew how tough they were, how mean they were.
And they said, “No, no, people that come into our country are all wonderful people.” No, they’re not wonderful. These are stone-cold killers. These are killers like — they make our killers look nice, by comparison. They make our killers look nice. These are rough, tough people with the tattoos all over their face.
Historically speaking — I don’t want to discriminate against anybody, but historically speaking, they’re not going to be the head of any major bank that we know of. These are rough people. These are rough, rough killer people, and they allowed them in by the millions.
Over the past four years, other countries emptied out their prisons and jails, mental institutions and insane asylums, and sent the killers, drug smugglers and bloodthirsty inmates from the filthiest dungeons of the world straight into the USA and open border. We had an open border policy.
Anybody could come in no matter what you were, no matter where you came from, no matter what you look like, no matter what you were doing, no matter what you did, no matter how many people you murdered. You could come right into our country. We have murderers right now walking the streets.
And we don't want it. We aren't going to let that happen. And I just learned what it says on that statue. Did you know it said something on the statue? It didn't know that until today. I like the part about the 'golden door'; I like gold; but the other stuff; we this about 'tired' and “poor” people. And why would we take 'wretched refuse'? Isn't that like taking other countries' garbage. Do they think we are stupid?
Over the past four years, other countries emptied out their prisons and jails, mental institutions and insane asylums, and sent the killers, drug smugglers and bloodthirsty inmates from the filthiest dungeons of the world straight into the USA and open border. I bet some of them even came from France.
Today I am declaring our great nation's borders closed. Not closed for business; if you've got money we will welcome you with open arms. I have also directed the National Park Service to remove the bad plaque on Lady Liberty; it's a bad plaque; and replace with a new one declaring how great our nation is and how our unbelievably great Border Patrol is on the job 24/7 keeping our citizens safe from some very bad people.
A National Park Service (NPS) spokesperson, who begged to remain anonymous, spoke to the statue's history: "Ordinary people, from American suffragists in the 1800s and 1900s to Chinese students in the 1980s, have raised up the Statue's likeness to call for greater equality, an end to injustice, and more enlightened societies.”
The controversy surrounding the iconic symbol comes at a time when the U.S. government has been criticized at home and abroad for abandoning those commitments and becoming a fascist state - cracking down on immigration, human rights, freedom of speech and eliminating the rule of law.
In other (related) news, President Trump issued his 98th executive order declaring a 50 percent tariff on French Fries.
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THE NOT SO FINE PRINT: This post is SATIRE! Aside from a few words that were changed or added, people actually said nearly everything quoted in this post. Much of the long quote attributed to the President Trump He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named really came out of his mouth, with only minor changes, and came from his recent, long and bizarre, ramble at the Department of Justice on March 15th. The references below were heavily plagiarized in the making of this satire.
REFERENCES:
From France comes a call for Trump’s America to return Lady Liberty. Here’s why it won’t happen; https://apnews.com/article/france-trump-statue-of-liberty-glucksmann-248cbd501c7b66d7b37988bf6abdacf8
French official knocks ‘shameful’ Trump administration after Statue of Liberty remarks; https://thehill.com/policy/international/5201350-raphael-glucksmann-france-trump-statue-of-liberty/
Does the U.S. deserve the Statue of Liberty? Not anymore, one French politician says; https://www.npr.org/2025/03/18/nx-s1-5332084/statue-of-liberty-france-return
Transcript of President Trump Remarks at the Department of Justice; https://singjupost.com/transcript-of-president-trump-remarks-at-the-department-of-justice/