French politician Raphaël Glucksmann has demanded the United States 'return Statue of Liberty' in a scathing rant about the country.
The comments were made by Glucksmann, a member of the centre-left Place Publique party in France who is also a staunch defender of Ukraine, at a party convention where he took to the opportunity to call out Donald Trump, who he claims has sided with Russian president Vladimir Putin.
Such remarks come about after Trump's heated row with Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, after which he briefly halted aid to the war-torn country which was invaded by Russia in 2022.
During the convention, Glucksmann criticised the US and claims the country no longer champions the values which the Statue of Liberty represents.
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For some context, the iconic Lady Liberty statue - which was designed by French sculptor Auguste Bartholdi - was gifted to America by France way back in 1884 as a present to commemorate the alliance between the two countries.
It arrived the following year in 1885 and was finally reassembled in 1886.
"Give us back the Statue of Liberty," he said, according to the Agence France-Presse (AFP). "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'."
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He added: "We gave it to you as a gift, but apparently you despise it. So, it will be just fine here at home."
The member of the European Parliament, who is also a vocal opponent of Trump slashing funding to colleges and research institutions.
The US president's federal congressional budget proposes billions in cuts to research institutions, while he also threatened cuts to universities who don't do enough to clamp down on illegal protests.
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He continued over the weekend on Sunday (16 March): "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 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'."
Glucksmann's comments were made during a wider attack on far-right leaders across the globe, particularly those in France, in which he accused them of being a 'fan club' for Trump and multi-billionaire, Elon Musk, who bankrolled the former's presidential campaign and is now controversially spearheading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) with many now referring to him as 'President Musk'.
Topics: Donald Trump, Politics, US News, World News, News
Rhiannon Ingle