At the feet of the Statue of Liberty, an inscription reads: ‘Give me your tired, your poor. Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.’

Earlier this week, a lawmaker suggested it’s time the US gives the famous Green Lady back to France, 140 years after it arrived on the shores of New York as a gift.

But the White House has slammed the notion from MEP Raphaël Glucksmann.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told a reporter who asked if Trump would return the statue: ‘Absolutely not.’

‘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.’

Her remarks have spurred online discussion, with hundreds pointing out that America wouldn’t exist as a nation if it weren’t for French weapons in the American Revolution.

The Statue of Liberty towering over rooftops in Paris after it was first completed in 1884. TODAY we know the Statue of Liberty as the iconic sculpture that stands at 305 feet tall in New York City. But before the statue was gifted to the US from France in 1885, she had spent several years being exhibited across the world IN PIECES. These are the remarkable unearthed photographs which reveal the little-known history of one of the world?s most celebrated sculptures. The images show the unmistakeable head of the Statue of Liberty on display in Paris, France as well as her disembodied arm and torch exhibited in Philadelphia and Madison Square Park, Manhattan. When the colossal Statue of Liberty was unveiled in Liberty Island in New York Harbor, New York on 28th October 1886, she immediately became the tallest structure in the city. But for many years before that, the construction of Lady Liberty hung in the balance and the statue was displayed in its various disembodied parts in a desperate bid to raise money for her completion. ... SEE COPY ? PIC BY NEWS DOG MEDIA ... 0121 517 0019 ... pictures@newsdogmedia.co.uk
It was constructed in Paris before being dismantled and shipped (Picture: News Dog Media)

Mandatory Credit: Photo by Andrew Leyden/NurPhoto/Shutterstock (15209129d) White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks at the press briefing in Washington, D.C., USA, on March 17, 2025. When she is asked about a French demand that the Statue of Liberty be returned, she notes that without the USA, all of France would be speaking German. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt Speaks At The Press Briefing, Washington, United States - 17 Mar 2025
Karoline Leavitt issued the wild response after a reporter asked if they would return it (Picture: Shutterstock)
Glucksmann previously said: ‘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.”

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

He suggested that France would welcome the government researchers and employees who were fired en masse under the new administration.

He said: ‘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.’

The idea for the statue was originally conceived by French politician and US Constitution expert Edouard de Laboulaye as an emblem of the friendship between the French and the Americans and a sign of their mutual desire for liberty.

It was then sculpted by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi as a symbol of liberty, justice and democracy.

It took twenty years to build before it was dismantled and shipped to New York from France. Americans paid for the stone pedestal Lady Liberty stands on today, but the statue itself was a gift from the French.

However, it has taken on other symbolism over the years, having greeted millions of immigrants to the US shores and being seen as their symbol of hope and opportunity for a better life there.


‘We gave it to you as a gift, but you despise it’ (Credits: Getty Images)
Its official website also explains that the torch held by the Statue of Liberty lights the way to freedom, showing us the path to liberty.

The current torch on the statue was replaced in 1986, and reflects the sun’s rays in the daytime, while at night time it is lit by 16 floodlights.

Meanwhile, the Statue’s left hand holds a tablet of law which is inscribed with the date of American Independence – July 4, 1776.

It measures 151 feet high and is covered in sheets of copper, which eventually turns bright green due to oxidation from moisture.