But his assertion in a speech this weekend that some Americans "have chosen to switch to the side of the tyrants" reflects the broad shockwaves that U.S. President Donald Trump's seismic shifts in foreign and domestic policy are triggering in France and elsewhere in Europe.

A French politician suggested the two countries no longer share the values that inspired the gift more than a century ago. The White House sharply rejected his request, which he described as symbolic.

White House press secretary Karoline Leaviitt reminded a French politician who wants the Statue of Liberty back that the U.S. saved him from Nazi Germany.