Fact Check: The Bust of Winston Churchill

[sinkingfeeling]

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2012/07/27/fact-check-bust-winston-churchill

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.

[Gold Metal Flake]

1. ABC News showing it's conservative media bias again.

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/07/romney-looking-forward-to-returning-churchill-bust-to-white-house/

ABC "Reporter" Emily Friedman should retract and apologize at once. The CMB is brazen and obscene.

[sinkingfeeling]

2. A google search will show dozens of 'media' that haven't noticed the bust is still

at the WH. I just busted Yahoo for claiming it had been shipped back to England.

[hootinholler]

3. It's right next to the big bag o 'W' keys

Left by the Clinton administration.

[Xipe Totec]

6. And the bag of pretzels, in case Dubyah wants to drop by for a visit. nt

[X_Digger]

4. It's amazing how pernicious some things that are easily disproven continue to rattle around.

*sigh* Makes me lose more faith in the traditional media.

[Mojorabbit]

5. Her twitter acct is link just under her byline on the article page

Might not hurt to send her a tweet?
https://twitter.com/EmilyABC

[DevonRex]

10. I did. Nt

[Hissyspit]

7. Charles Krauthammer is still employed to open his snooty piehole?

Why?

[xtraxritical]

8. Charles Krauthammer - smellyest asshole in (I use the term very loosley) journalism.

[FailureToCommunicate]

9. I don't pay attention to Krauthammer, but yesterday he said Romney

(at the Olympics) had only to 'finish, not win, just finish...instead, he goes and tackles the guy in the lane next to him' !!

I thought that was pretty funny!

[Cryos]

11. Spam deleted by zappaman (MIR Team)

[mercuryblues]

12. oops

why would you leave out that the bust that was returned to the british Embassy was on loan to the White House during Dimson's tenure at the W? When he left office the Bust was returned as arranged.So the embassy wanted it back, not Obama willy-nilly returned it so he could purposely offend the Brits.

So how is it a lie? You even stated that the Churchill bust from the Nixon era is STILL in the WH. Oh I get it, while Obama was busy trying to keep America alive he was supposed to run around and take inventory of every single piece of art.

[Swede]

13. Cryos,the poor dumb bastard,got tombstoned after one post.

He'll be back in some other form,soon.

[Tx4obama]

14. There are TWO busts. The bust that was on loan to Bush WAS sent back to England.

A COPY of the bust that the White House has had since the 1960s, that is still at the White House, is the one that Cameron was looking at.


See here: http://www.mediaite.com/online/british-embassy-confirms-krauthammer-right-white-house-wrong-churchill-bust-returned-in-2009/

[Bolo Boffin]

17. So Dubya wanted a Churchill bust in the Oval Office, but the White House copy was being worked on

So the British lent him one for the duration of his presidency. That one went back and the White House's copy was placed in the Residence.

Do we know where the White House's copy was after it was worked on, whatever that entailed? I ask you because you seem to have all the links.

[Tx4obama]

18. The COPY is in the photo on the link below

The photo on the link below is the COPY of the bust - Cameron and Obama are looking at the COPY

It looks to me like it is out in the hallway.

Here: http://www.mediaite.com/online/british-embassy-confirms-krauthammer-right-white-house-wrong-churchill-bust-returned-in-2009/

[Bolo Boffin]

19. Yes, I got that.

I mean, where did the White House's copy go right after it was finished? They didn't work on it for eight years, right?

So after that, Bush had two busts of Churchill, one in the Oval Office and the other one where?

[Tx4obama]

21. Oh.

Well I don't know where it was the whole eight years of Bush.

Perhaps it was just in storage in White House.

Storage in the sub-basement: http://www.whitehousemuseum.org/FloorB.htm
It probably was NOT in the curator's office, because in there it looks like just on office with desks, computers, books, etc: http://www.whitehousemuseum.org/Floor0.htm

[Bolo Boffin]

22. OK, that's cool.

You know a lot about it, so I thought you might know. Cheers!

[Tom Ripley]

15. He was quite a portly man, so I imagine he had huge saggy man boobs...

Oh! You meant the other kind of bust. Never mind...

[Tx4obama]

16. The Lincoln bust was already in the Oval Office. Obama added a MLK, Jr bust to the Oval Office

See PHOTOS in comment #18 here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021026777#post18


Also here's an article...

Bust of MLK Joins President Obama in Oval Office

Well, here’s another way President Obama has put his historic stamp on the presidency. With no fanfare or media attention, President Obama last month added a new decoration to the Oval Office: a 12 5/8" bronze bust of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. The work, titled "Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968)," is by celebrated African-American sculptor Charles Alston — the first African-American instructor at the Art Students League — who died in 1977. Created in 1970, it was acquired by the Smithsonian Institution’s National Portrait Gallery in 1974. When the Smithsonian lent the bust to the President Bill Clinton’s White House in 2000 to be displayed in the White House Library, that marked, believe it or not, the very first time that the image of an African-American was displayed in a public space in the White House. Pretty astounding, when you think about it, given the bust’s current place of honor. The King bust sits near the fireplace and adjacent a bust of President Abraham Lincoln, with the two legendary Americans facing President Obama when he sits at the HMS Resolute Desk. The Lincoln bust sits where a bust of Sir Winston Churchill — on loan from the British Embassy after the 9/11 attacks, and returned before Mr. Obama’s inauguration — once sat. — jpt

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2009/03/bust-of-mlk-joi/

So, the Churchill bust that was on loan was moved out when Bush left.
Then...
The Lincoln bust was moved to the other side of the fireplace where the Churchhill bust once sat.
The Martin Luther King, Jr. bust was added to the side of the fireplace where the Lincoln bust was before it was moved to the other side.

Anyone that has been paying attention and following along to this since 2009 would know and would not be confused

[ImaPolitico]

23. Thank you, thank you

I was one of the many who actually received the viral email re: Bust of Winston Churchill many years ago and have been debunking it ever since.
You are right. Haters/Repubs do not care about facts.


The photo is on WhiteHouse.gov.

"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.

There is a photo of both President Barack Obama and Prime Minister David Cameron of the United Kingdom showing him the bust of Sir Winston Churchill (July 20, 2010)
President Barack Obama shows Prime Minister David Cameron of the United Kingdom a bust of Sir Winston Churchill in the private residence of the White House, July 20, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Hopefully this clears things up a bit and prevents folks from making this ridiculous claim again.

Update:

Since my post on the fact that the bust of Winston Churchill has remained on display in the White House, despite assertions to the contrary, I have received a bunch of questions -- so let me provide some additional info. The White House has had a bust of Winston Churchill since the 1960’s. At the start of the Bush administration Prime Minister Blair lent President Bush a bust that matched the one in the White House, which was being worked on at the time and was later returned to the residence. The version lent by Prime Minister Blair was displayed by President Bush until the end of his Presidency. On January 20, 2009 -- Inauguration Day -- all of the art lent specifically for President Bush’s Oval Office was removed by the curator’s office, as is common practice at the end of every presidency. The original Churchill bust remained on display in the residence. The idea put forward by Charles Krauthammer and others that President Obama returned the Churchill bust or refused to display the bust because of antipathy towards the British is completely false and an urban legend that continues to circulate to this day.


Dan Pfeiffer
Former Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor

[mainer]

20. So Mitt wants the White House to have TWO busts of WC on display?

And NO BUST of Abe Lincoln? What country does he think the White House represents?