Biden wrong to evict Winston Churchill bust from Oval Office

[dukkha]

n his inaugural address, President Biden pledged to "repair alliances." Yet one of his first moves in power was to remove a bust of the late British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill from the Oval Office, as President Barack Obama did in January 2009. This was a slap in the face for Great Britain on Day One of Biden's presidency, and sends the wrong signal to America’s closest friend and ally.

The Churchill bust is a sensitive issue for U.S.-British relations. The bronze bust, created by sculptor Jacob Epstein, was originally a loaned gift to President George W. Bush from British Prime Minister Tony Blair in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

The bust is a symbol of the British people standing shoulder to shoulder with their American brothers and sisters following the worst terrorist attack in U.S. history. Another bust of Churchill, which has been on the second floor of the White House since the 1960s, is outside the Treaty Room.


When Obama decided to send the Oval Office Churchill bust back to the British Embassy within days of taking office, the move attracted a great deal of negative publicity in the United Kingdom. It was strongly condemned by then-mayor of London (and now Prime Minister) Boris Johnson.

The Churchill bust was returned to the White House when Donald Trump became president in 2017, and was in the Oval Office until this week.

Indeed, under President Obama, the partnership between the two allies was not as close as it was under President George W. Bush. At the time, many British conservatives viewed the Obama administration as being at best lukewarm towards Britain, and on occasion even hostile.

In April 2016, ahead of the Brexit referendum, Obama warned the U.K. that it would be at "the back of the queue" for a trade deal with the U.S. if the British people dared to vote to leave the European Union. His remarks, made in London, were seen as both insulting and an unacceptable direct intervention by the U.S. president in British politics.

There are real concerns in London that Biden may translate his antipathy towards Brexit and his well-known admiration for the European Union into a downgrading of the Anglo-American alliance in favor of appeasing Brussels and the continental European powers of Germany and France.
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/chur...-nile-gardiner

[Hawkeye10]

The British people need to be punished for voting to leave is I believe how the thinking goes.

[Darth Omar]

The British people need to be punished for voting to leave is I believe how the thinking goes.

It reflects a mindset.

The Brits have a colonialist history that ‘enlightened’ progressives find offensive. It didn’t surprise me that Obama would kick Churchill out but it seems out of character for Biden to do it.

Apparently, he’s spent so much time with them lately they’ve taken over his mind. Or, it was ‘suggested’ that Churchill be sent back by someone else. Harris would be an obvious culprit for that.

In any event it’s petty and stupid.

[Hawkeye10]

It reflects a mindset.

The Brits have a colonialist history that ‘enlightened’ progressives find offensive. It didn’t surprise me that Obama would kick Churchill out but it seems out of character for Biden to do it.

Apparently, he’s spent so much time with them lately they’ve taken over his mind. Or, it was ‘suggested’ that Churchill be sent back by someone else. Harris would be an obvious culprit for that.

In any event it’s petty and stupid.

Biden is now run by committee.

[reagansghost]

Biden is now run by committee.

what the fuck is that supposed to mean?

he's not a wannabe dictator like your pappy?

[BidenPresident]

what the fuck is that supposed to mean?

he's not a wannabe dictator like your pappy?

I stopped reading posts by Hawkeye. He's incoherent.

[Hawkeye10]

what the fuck is that supposed to mean?

he's not a wannabe dictator like your pappy?

It means that for the most part almost dead Biden is not deciding anything, he is a figurehead for the group that is actually in charge, the Revolution.

[martin]

It reflects a mindset.

The Brits have a colonialist history that ‘enlightened’ progressives find offensive. It didn’t surprise me that Obama would kick Churchill out but it seems out of character for Biden to do it.

Apparently, he’s spent so much time with them lately they’ve taken over his mind. Or, it was ‘suggested’ that Churchill be sent back by someone else. Harris would be an obvious culprit for that.

In any event it’s petty and stupid.

What's petty and stupid is getting out of shape over how Biden decorates his office.

[Darth Omar]

What's petty and stupid is getting out of shape over how Biden decorates his office.

Did I say I cared lol?

Seemed to have missed that part. My comment had to do with the mindset that would make Biden *care* enough about it to remove it.

[Iolo/Penderyn]

Did I say I cared lol?

Seemed to have missed that part. My comment had to do with the mindset that would make Biden *care* enough about it to remove it.

I suppose Trump had one of Hitler. I expect President Biden had that removed too. One of my strongest early memories is how they had the face to show Churchill giving an election broadcast in one of our Rhondda cinemas. The place erupted, people standing up and screaming with fury, throwing things at the screen, whatever, till they took off the evil old bugger. Most exciting for a small child!

[martin]

Did I say I cared lol?

Seemed to have missed that part. My comment had to do with the mindset that would make Biden *care* enough about it to remove it.

Same point - the assumption meaningful enough to generate a debate post that removing a piece of sculpture during redecoration of his office involved a weighty "mindset" about the subject of the art work when you haven't the slightest idea of what thought if any he gave it.

[BattleofHodow]

It reflects a mindset.

The Brits have a colonialist history that ‘enlightened’ progressives find offensive. It didn’t surprise me that Obama would kick Churchill out but it seems out of character for Biden to do it.

Apparently, he’s spent so much time with them lately they’ve taken over his mind. Or, it was ‘suggested’ that Churchill be sent back by someone else. Harris would be an obvious culprit for that.

In any event it’s petty and stupid.

A good deal of British like to praise colonialism while looking down on other Europeans for their crimes like Hitler or Stalin or even mock other Europeans for lacking colonies like Poles & Irish etc.

Truth is the British Empire killed an enormous amount.

Probably more than Hitler & Stalin combined.

Just in India alone 60 - 85 million starved to death by British colonialism in 24 recorded famines.

That's literally 24 terror famines, while Soviets had just 3.

British also committed numerous crimes outside of India.

The blockade of Germany after WW1.
The Persian famine during WW1.
The Irish potato famine
Cromwell conquest of Ireland.

Their Atlantic slave trade crimes.
Their crimes against Native Americans, the Maori & Australoids.
The Taiping rebellion & Opium wars.

[cancel2 2022]

A good deal of British like to praise colonialism while looking down on other Europeans for their crimes like Hitler or Stalin or even mock other Europeans for lacking colonies like Poles & Irish etc.

Truth is the British Empire killed an enormous amount.

Probably more than Hitler & Stalin combined.

Just in India alone 60 - 85 million starved to death by British colonialism in 24 recorded famines.

That's literally 24 terror famines, while Soviets had just 3.

British also committed numerous crimes outside of India.

The blockade of Germany after WW1.
The Persian famine during WW1.
The Irish potato famine
Cromwell conquest of Ireland.

Their Atlantic slave trade crimes.
Their crimes against Native Americans, the Maori & Australoids.
The Taiping rebellion & Opium wars.

Of course the French, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Germans and Belgians were paragons of virtue. It's clear that you've a massive chip on your shoulder and have little interest in the truth. Makes you wonder why so many Polish pilots fought in the Battle of Britain, and indeed why millions live in the Uk now, any answer to that?

If the Brits cared so little about human lives why did they force the Hindus to give up the abhorrent practice of Duri, got any answer for that? Indeed why did they abolish slavery, resulting in huge compensation payments to the ships' owners for many years, nearly the country in the process?

[BattleofHodow]

Of course the French, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Germans and Belgians were paragons of virtue. It's clear that you've a massive chip on your shoulder and have little interest on the truth. Makes you wonder why so many Polish pilots fought in the Battle of Britain, and indeed why millions live in the Uk now, any answer to that?

You've singled out almost every R1b haplogroup nation.

Yes, Western Europeans aren't good people.

Some Poles fought for Britain & some even for Stalin.

It was a matter of defeating Nazis.

Almost all Poles knew back then Hitler was a more volatile threat than Stalin.

Not that Stalin was good.
Stalin was really bad too.

Just the message has been lost to some modern Poles who believe Stalin was worse than Hitler.

[anatta]

It reflects a mindset.

The Brits have a colonialist history that ‘enlightened’ progressives find offensive. It didn’t surprise me that Obama would kick Churchill out but it seems out of character for Biden to do it.

the old moderate Biden is brain dead. Obamatrons infect this administration.
of course we knew this going in, but he pulled the wool over eyes of enough neverTrumps