Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Fact Check: The Bust of Winston Churchill (From the Horse's Mouth)
The White House Blog ^ | July 27, 2012 | Dan Pfeiffer

Posted on 07/27/2012 1:20:58 PM PDT by Colonel Kangaroo

Lately, there’s been a rumor swirling around about the current location of the bust of Winston Churchill. Some have claimed that President Obama removed the bust of Winston Churchill from the Oval Office and sent it back to the British Embassy.

Now, normally we wouldn’t address a rumor that’s so patently false, but just this morning the Washington Post’s Charles Krauthammer repeated this ridiculous claim in his column. He said President Obama “started his Presidency by returning to the British Embassy the bust of Winston Churchill that had graced the Oval Office.”

This is 100% false. The bust still in the White House. In the Residence. Outside the Treaty Room.

News outlets have debunked this claim time and again. First, back in 2010 the National Journal reported that “the Churchill bust was relocated to a prominent spot in the residence to make room for Abraham Lincoln, a figure from whom the first African-American occupant of the Oval Office might well draw inspiration in difficult times.” And just in case anyone forgot, just last year the AP reported that President Obama “replaced the Oval Office fixture with a bust of one of his American heroes, President Abraham Lincoln, and moved the Churchill bust to the White House residence.”

In case these news reports are not enough for Mr. Krauthammer and others, here’s a picture of the President showing off the Churchill bust to Prime Minister Cameron when he visited the White House residence in 2010


TOPICS: United Kingdom
KEYWORDS: bust; whitehouse
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-53 next last
I guess that's one charge against the president that has gone bust.

Good for President Obama. But I was always more upset about gays in the military, abortion and Mr. Holder than Churchill's bust.

1 posted on 07/27/2012 1:21:03 PM PDT by Colonel Kangaroo
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: Colonel Kangaroo

“Abraham Lincoln, a figure from whom the first African-American occupant of the Oval Office might well draw inspiration in difficult times.”

ESPECIALLY AS HE DECLARES WAR AGAINST HALF OF AMERICA...


2 posted on 07/27/2012 1:23:28 PM PDT by jessduntno ("Racism is not dead...it is on life support - kept alive by politicians..." - Thomas Sowell)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Colonel Kangaroo
Picture of the bust:


3 posted on 07/27/2012 1:23:28 PM PDT by Colonel Kangaroo
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Colonel Kangaroo

I see two BUTTS and part of one bust.


4 posted on 07/27/2012 1:25:58 PM PDT by Truth is a Weapon (Truth, it hurts so good.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: Colonel Kangaroo

Don’t discount that fact that the bust in the picture is a cheap replica or that the picture has been Photoshopped.


5 posted on 07/27/2012 1:26:31 PM PDT by Uncle Slayton
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: Colonel Kangaroo

well at least he is bowing to someone worthy....


6 posted on 07/27/2012 1:29:59 PM PDT by When do we get liberated? (A socialist is a communist who realizes he must suck at the tit of Capitalism.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: Colonel Kangaroo

It doesn’t matter where he moved it to...what matters is he removed it from the Oval Office.

Why did he do this?

Maybe because his world view is forged from a deep seeded hatred of colonial Great Britain. Its a Kenyan point of view, born out of unrequited daddy worship, directed at an absentee father who was allegedly abused/imprisoned by Churchill’s subordinates.


7 posted on 07/27/2012 1:30:29 PM PDT by lacrew (Mr. Soetoro, we regret to inform you that your race card is over the credit limit.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Colonel Kangaroo

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/barackobama/4623148/Barack-Obama-sends-bust-of-Winston-Churchill-on-its-way-back-to-Britain.html

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/240645-romney-ill-return-winston-churchill-bust-to-oval-office


8 posted on 07/27/2012 1:31:05 PM PDT by Jayster
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Colonel Kangaroo
All this will come as news to the Telegraph.

Barack Obama sends bust of Winston Churchill on its way back to Britain

By Tim Shipman in Washington

5:20PM GMT 14 Feb 2009

A bust of the former prime minister once voted the greatest Briton in history, which was loaned to George W Bush from the Government's art collection after the September 11 attacks, has now been formally handed back.

The bronze by Sir Jacob Epstein, worth hundreds of thousands of pounds if it were ever sold on the open market, enjoyed pride of place in the Oval Office during President Bush's tenure.

But when British officials offered to let Mr Obama to hang onto the bust for a further four years, the White House said: "Thanks, but no thanks."

Diplomats were at first reluctant to discuss the whereabouts of the Churchill bronze, after its ejection from the seat of American power. But the British Embassy in Washington has now confirmed that it sits in the palatial residence of ambassador Sir Nigel Sheinwald, just down the road from Vice President Joe Biden's official residence. It is not clear whether the ambassador plans to keep it in Washington or send it back to London.

American politicians have made quoting Churchill, whose mother was American, something of an art form, but not Mr Obama, who prefers to cite the words and works of his hero Abraham Lincoln. Indeed a bust of Mr Lincoln now sits in the Oval Office where Epstein's Churchill once ruled the roost.

9 posted on 07/27/2012 1:32:39 PM PDT by JennysCool (My hypocrisy goes only so far)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Uncle Slayton
Nah. It's the real deal. Just before Cameron's trip over they sent an intern down to the old coal bin in the White House basement to retrieve it from where Obama had been shooting hoops with it.>br />
In the picture Obama is passing off a particularly nasty gouge on Winston's forehead as a result of something Bush did prior to Obama's presence at the White House. :)
10 posted on 07/27/2012 1:33:31 PM PDT by Sudetenland (Member of the BBB Club - Bye-Bye-Barry!!! President Barack "Down Low" Obama)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: Colonel Kangaroo

Fact Check on Aisle One please...


11 posted on 07/27/2012 1:33:31 PM PDT by GraceG
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Colonel Kangaroo

I have a hunch the Obama campaign is panicking because, for the next two weeks of Olympics coverage, America is going to fall in love anew with all things British, and Obama’s Churchill diss isn’t going to look good. Why else would they bring the issue up now?


12 posted on 07/27/2012 1:35:06 PM PDT by JennysCool (My hypocrisy goes only so far)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Colonel Kangaroo

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Peace/2012/07/27/White-House-Now-Claims-It-Didnt-Remove-Churchill-Bust


13 posted on 07/27/2012 1:35:06 PM PDT by Jayster
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: JennysCool

“A bust of the former prime minister once voted the greatest Briton in history, which was loaned to George W Bush from the Government’s art collection after the September 11 attacks, has now been formally handed back.”

It now appears that the Churchill bust was loaned to President Bush, not Obama and Obama is refusing to return the Churchill bust to England.

The bust is essentially stolen property.


14 posted on 07/27/2012 1:35:44 PM PDT by Uncle Slayton
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: Colonel Kangaroo

On being told by a curvaceous female fan at the unveiling of a his sculpture

“Mr Churchill, I want you to know that I got up at dawn and drove a hundred miles for the unveiling of your bust”,

Winston replied, no doubt with a twinkle in his eye:

“Madam, I want you to know that I would happily reciprocate the honour”


15 posted on 07/27/2012 1:37:13 PM PDT by allmendream (Tea Party did not send GOP to D.C. to negotiate the terms of our surrender to socialism)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Uncle Slayton

That was my first thought. Why are they JUST now trying to prove something?


16 posted on 07/27/2012 1:40:31 PM PDT by annieokie
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: Colonel Kangaroo

Meanwhile...down the hallway from Joe Biden’s office is one confused and shaken British Ambassador who had the door kicked open and a few masked men burst in, grabbed a bust of Winston Churchill and ran down the hallway to the Treaty Room.


17 posted on 07/27/2012 1:44:29 PM PDT by DeathBeforeDishonor1
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Colonel Kangaroo

July 27, 2012....CNN;

“But late Friday, British Embassy Spokesman James Barbour said there were actually two busts of Churchill, both by artist Sir Jacob Epstein.

The one that was loaned to the George W. Bush administration in 2001 was returned after Bush left office and now resides at the British ambassador’s residence in Washington.”

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/07/27/busted-two-statues-amount-to-one-churchill-bust-of-a-controversy/


18 posted on 07/27/2012 1:46:05 PM PDT by JoeDetweiler
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: JennysCool

I tend to believe your Telegraph story before I believe the known liar living in the White House.


19 posted on 07/27/2012 1:47:02 PM PDT by TexasCajun
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: JennysCool

They should check with the British Embassy in Washington to see if they’ve got the capital of Israel there too since they don’t know where that is either.


20 posted on 07/27/2012 1:47:36 PM PDT by philman_36 (Pride breakfasted with plenty, dined with poverty, and supped with infamy. Benjamin Franklin)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-53 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson