US won't return Statue of Liberty to France, White House says

The White House responded to a French politician's symbolic request for the return of the Statue of Liberty, a gift from France to the United States 140 years ago. The man claimed that the American nation no longer represents the values embodied by the monument.

President Donald Trump "absolutely will not" return the statue, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said following comments by Raphaël Glucksmann, the socialist member of the European Parliament who made the claim.

She noted that France would be "speaking German" were it not for U.S. aid during World War II.

"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 told reporters.

Speaking Sunday at a convention of the French center-left Place Publique party, the 45-year-old Glucksmann said, "Let's say to the Americans who have chosen to bow down to tyrants, to the Americans who fire researchers for showing signs of scientific freedom: 'Give us back the Statue of Liberty. We gave it to you, but apparently you despise it.'"

In his remarks, he also criticized the Trump administration's cut in federal aid to U.S. research institutes.

The European Parliament member, a staunch advocate of defending Ukraine in its war against Russia, has previously accused European leaders of not providing enough support to Kiev.

The United States played a key role in liberating France from four years of occupation by Nazi Germany. On June 6, 1944, Allied forces, primarily U.S., British and Canadian troops, launched the crucial D-Day invasion, which marked the beginning of the country's liberation.

France provided arms, ammunition, troops and naval support to the American colonies during the Revolutionary War.

The Statue of Liberty, a prominent symbol of freedom and hope, attracts millions of visitors each year to the U.S. It was first conceived by Frenchman Édouard de Laboulaye, and ardent admirer of America, as a gift to commemorate the centennial of the Declaration of Independence and the abolition of slavery.