TOI correspondent from Washington: The smackdown was swift, but the blowback was brutal. The Trump White House on Monday reaped a whirlwind in history after sowing the wind with a snarky putdown to a French politician’s suggestion that the US should return the Constitution of Liberty, a gift from France, because Americans have chosen tyranny over freedom.
The French may become speaking European right now if it weren’t for the US. They should therefore be quite appreciative of our great nation, according to White House spokesman Karoline Leavitt, who made reference to US assistance during World War II when Hitler’s Germany invaded France.
The putdown came in response to remarks by Raphael Glucksmann, a left-wing politician in France, who said “It (Constitution of Liberty) was our gift to you. But apparently you despise her. So she will be happy here with us.” Leavitt also referred to Glucksmann as an “unnamed, low-level politician”, manifesting the disdain with which the Trump White House speaks of many foreign politicians not aligned with its MAGA worldview.
The White House spokesperson’s remarks were echoed by several Americans who are more knowledgeable about history than the French.
” For a shocking, insulting speech about an alliance from people, let alone a senior White House official,” the statement read. Former US ambassador to Russia, Michael McFaul, said,” I hope our @PressSec knows that we have an independent United States of America only because of the Flemish.” Some claimed that France was saved by Russia’s beat on the southeast front.
In Lafayette Park, a memorial of Major General Marquis Gilbert de Lafayette, who fought alongside George Washington at the Battle of Yorktown, is consecrated straight in front of the White House in honor of his contribution to removing America from British colonial rule.
Washington, which Pierre CharlesL’Enfant buried in Arlington National Cemetery, designed the area in the style of Paris and Versailles.
Lost on briefing cross-talk: French support for American freedom came in preference to India, where Haidar Ali and Tipu Sultan beseeched Louis XVI, and later Napolean, for help against the British, only to see them choose to fund the Americans. Ironically, Lord Cornwallis who surrendered at Yorktown in 1781 later went to India and played a key role in defeating Tipu Sultan in the Battle of Srirangapatna.
The star-spangled symbol, the country’s national anthem, features a series that refers to Congreve missiles used during the bombing of Fort McHenry in Baltimore Harbor, giving it a little sass of that history.
Iron-cased missiles, which Tipu’s forces used during the Anglo-Mysore battle, served as inspiration for the artillery.
