White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt had sharp words for a little-known French politician who made waves by demanding the return of the Statue of Liberty.
During Monday’s press briefing, Leavitt didn’t hold back in responding to Raphaël Glucksmann, a European Parliament member from a minor leftist faction in France, who suggested that the United States had forsaken the values represented by the iconic statue.
Leavitt issued a pointed history lesson, reminding Glucksmann that his country would likely be speaking German today if not for the sacrifice of American troops in World War II.
Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy pressed Leavitt on whether President Donald Trump had any intention of sending the Statue of Liberty back to France, where it was originally crafted and gifted to the United States in the 19th century.
“Absolutely not,” Leavitt responded with a confident smirk. “And 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.”
🚨Politicians in France are asking for the Statue of Liberty BACK.
Karoline Leavitt chose VIOLENCE:
“I would like to remind France that it’s only because of the USA that the French are not speaking German right now. So they should be very grateful to our great country”
WOW. pic.twitter.com/PuG864VYj1
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) March 17, 2025
“So they should be very grateful to our great country,” she added, referencing the role American forces played in liberating France from Nazi occupation during World War II.
Glucksmann, addressing members of his Public Place party on Sunday, had made his controversial remarks, accusing the United States of aligning itself with oppressive regimes.
“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,’” Glucksmann declared to an audience that responded with cheers.
He went further, claiming that the U.S. had abandoned the ideals represented by the statue, originally gifted to celebrate American independence.
“We gave it to you as a gift, but apparently you despise it. So it will be just fine here at home,” he said.
Glucksmann’s political group has repeatedly attacked President Trump, accusing him of acting in an “authoritarian” manner and planning to hand Ukraine over to Russian control—claims that have been widely dismissed by Trump allies as fear-mongering from the European left.
In his speech, Glucksmann also invoked the famous words of American poet Emma Lazarus, which are inscribed on the statue, calling it a beacon of hope for “huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”
“Today, this land is ceasing to be what it was,” he claimed, without evidence.
His remarks also touched on the Trump administration’s decision to remove bureaucrats as part of the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) cost-cutting measures.
Glucksmann framed the move as a purge of top minds, despite the administration’s argument that the move was necessary to curb government waste.
“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,’” Glucksmann stated, “‘then we’re going to welcome them.’”
Meanwhile, on Monday, President Trump’s senior advisor Elon Musk made headlines of his own, revealing that several federal agencies have been operating what he dubbed “Magic Money Computers.”
Speaking on Sen. Ted Cruz’s (R-TX) “Verdict” podcast, Musk claimed that his DOGE team had uncovered 14 of these so-called computers with the ability to generate funds seemingly out of thin air.
“I call a ‘magic money computer’ any computer which can just make money out of thin air,” Musk explained, suggesting that such systems exist in multiple federal agencies, including the Treasury Department, the State Department, and even the Department of Defense.
While Musk noted that these computers were “not totally wrong” in their financial reporting, he estimated that their figures were “probably off” by as much as 10% in some cases.
His revelation underscores long-standing concerns among fiscal conservatives about reckless government spending and the urgent need for transparency in federal budgeting.
Watch Musk’s full interview on “The Verdict” here:
The American people are most fortunate to have the genius of Elon Musk and his D.O.G.E. team looking for government waste. We have been getting robbed routinely by a government that shows no fiscal responsibility. We must remember at election time the names of those crying the loudest regarding D.O.G.E.’s findings of waste and out and out fraud.
Those not responsible for corruption in government love Elon!! They are caught and peeing their pants about now.