U.S. rejects French politician's call to return Statue of Liberty

The latest: White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said at a press briefing Monday that the U.S. would "absolutely not" return the iconic statue.

• "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," she added, referring to the German occupation of France during World War II.
• "So they should be very grateful to our great country."

State of play: The rhetorical furor kicked off when Glucksmann called for the statue's return at a party convention Sunday.

• "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," Glucksmann said. "'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 added.

Flashback: Lady Liberty was gifted by the French government to the U.S. roughly 140 years ago.

Go deeper: America's allies are in trouble