Donald Trump has vowed to return a bust of Winston Churchill to the Oval Office as a ‘mark of honour’ for Britain’s great war leader.
The bronze bust was removed by the ‘woke’ Joe Biden when he defeated Trump in 2020 and replaced by a bust of Hispanic union leader Cesar Chavez.
A self-styled Anglophile whose mother was Scottish, Trump described Churchill as his idol.
Last night a source close to Trump said: ‘One of the first things he will do is bring the bust of Churchill back to the Oval Office as a mark of respect.’
‘Donald worships Churchill and believes he is the greatest leader the world has ever seen. He will restore him to his honorable position.’
Donald Trump said one of his first acts would be to return a bronze statue of Winston Churchill to the Oval Office as a ‘mark of honour’ for the wartime Prime Minister.
Earlier, Trump called Churchill a ‘hero’ and referred to the Oscar-winning film The Darkest Hour, starring Gary Oldman as Churchill, as ‘my favorite film’.
Trump has previously called the Oscar-winning film The Darkest Hour, starring Gary Oldman as Churchill, as ‘my favorite film.’
The bust of Churchill, by British modernist sculptor Sir Jacob Epstein, was a gift from the Wartime Friends of Winston Churchill to President Lyndon B Johnson in 1965.
It was the pride of the Oval Office until 2009 when Barack Obama replaced it with one of the leaders of civil rights Martin Luther King Jr.
At the time former prime minister Boris Johnson, who wrote a best-selling biography of Churchill, described Obama’s snub as ‘an aversion to the ancestors of the British Empire’.
When Trump defeated Hillary Clinton – who ran for the White House after Obama served a maximum of two terms in office – in the 2016 Election, he immediately removed Martin Luther King’s bust and restored Churchill ‘to his rightful place.’
Trump condemned protesters who made ‘racist’ comments at Churchill’s statue in London’s Parliament Square during a Black Lives Matters protest.
The source said: ‘He thinks it’s a shame people are attacking Churchill’s image when Churchill saved the world from Hitler’s tyranny.’
Trump’s close friend Nigel Farage this week called Trump’s defeat of Kamala Harris ‘the biggest setback since Churchill’, referring to the fact that Churchill was defeated in the 1945 general election only to return to power in 1951.
Trump’s close friend Nigel Farage this week called Trump’s defeat of Kamala Harris the ‘biggest setback since Churchill’, referring to the fact that Churchill was defeated in the 1945 general election only to return to power in 1951.
Last night, Churchill’s grandson, Lord Nicholas Soames, told the Mail on Sunday: ‘I am delighted. Convenient. I’m glad he did that. I’m happy’
Trump formed a close relationship with the Churchill family during his first term, visiting Churchill’s birthplace Blenheim Palace and befriending the 12th Duke of Marlborough, nicknamed ‘The Dook.’
The Duke, also known as Jamie Blandford, sealed the friendship with a four-day trip to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida in 2019.
Whether the return of the Churchill bust to the Oval Office smoothes the relationship between the elected president and the Labor government remains to be seen.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy has described Trump as ‘deluded, dishonest, xenophobic narcissist and’ has no friends in Britain in a 2019 tweet.
Historian and Churchill biographer Andrew Roberts (aka Lord Roberts of Belgravia) said: ‘This is excellent news, but it is only understandable that President Trump also supports it by using Churchill’s signature policy of fighting totalitarian dictatorships that attack their neighbors without provocation.’
The bronze bust was removed by the ‘woke’ Joe Biden when he defeated Trump in 2020 and replaced with a bust of Hispanic union leader Cesar Chavez.
Broadcaster and former Conservative MP Rory Stewart said: “I am delighted that the bust of Winston Churchill is back in the Oval office. Whatever we think of Donald Trump and I am – quite simply – no fan, it is very important for Britain that we maintain a positive relationship with the President The United States – which remains the undisputed power of the world and the key to the international order.’
Lord Michael Dobbs, author of the House of Cards trilogy said: ‘It’s a beautiful statue. Churchill himself was half-American – his mother Jenny was born in Brooklyn.
‘He believes that the partnership between our countries is the best guarantee for a safe world. It is a sign of great hope that President Trump wants to draw inspiration from him.
‘It would also be very helpful if Labor Cabinet Ministers stopped insulting him.’
Last night, Churchill’s grandson, Lord Nicholas Soames, told the Mail on Sunday: ‘I am delighted. Convenient. I’m glad he did that. I like it.’
