Churchill or bust: British Embassy says White House was wrong - sort of

White House communications director Dan Pfeiffer on Friday posted this photo online in a somewhat failed attempt to debunk claims that President Obama removed a bust of Winston Churchill when he took office.

/ White House

(CBS News) The White House's case arguing President Obama never returned a bust of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill turned out to be somewhat of a bust itself.

The British Embassy on Friday confirmed to Mediaite.com that despite caustic pushback from an Obama administration official, conservative Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer was correct when he wrote in his column this week that Mr. Obama "started his presidency by returning to the British Embassy the bust of Winston Churchill that had graced the Oval Office."

A photo showing the president and British Prime Minister David Cameron leaning over a Churchill bust outside the Treaty Room was posted to the White House blog Friday in an effort by Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer to debunk what he called the "patently false" claim by Krauthammer. But according to the Embassy, the bust in the photo is just a copy of the original.

"When that administration came to an end so did the loan; the bust now resides in the British Ambassador's Residence in Washington DC," the Embassy said. "The White House collection has its own Epstein bust of Churchill, which President Obama showed to Prime Minister Cameron when he visited the White House in March."

But Pfeiffer is refusing to back down. Following the Embassy's statement on Saturday, he updated his original post arguing the bust in the White House today is the original from the 1960s; the one returned at the start of this administration was lent to President George W. Bush by former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and "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," he wrote.

Pfeiffer condemned "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" as "completely false and an urban legend." The "others" include presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney, who fueled the debate Thursday when he vowed to return the bust should he take the Oval Office in November.

The Embassy tacked onto its statement a piece of advice: "Churchill Bust story is a silly diversion - let's get on and focus on seeing who wins most medals in the Olympics."

[wfw3536]

Sad that the Obama administration tryed to lie about it, but were caught just like when Obama promised Obamacare wasn't a tax during a TV interview, yet had his attorneys present 11 pages of information to the Supreme Court on why it is a tax. How sad that you can't trust our elected officals.

[reelife11]

Did we read the same article? How did you come to the conclusion that they lied about it? They are simply posing with the bust to show that Churchill's "image" was not removed (since that was the BIG controversy). HERE'S WHAT THEY STATED AGAIN,PLEASE TRY TO KEEP UP: "When that administration came to an end so did the loan; the bust now resides in the British Ambassador's Residence in Washington DC," the Embassy said. "The White House collection has its own Epstein bust of Churchill, which President Obama showed to Prime Minister Cameron when he visited the White House in March."
But Pfeiffer is refusing to back down. Following the Embassy's statement on Saturday, he updated his original post arguing the bust in the White House today is the original from the 1960s; the one returned at the start of this administration was lent to President George W. Bush by former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and "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," he wrote.

So let's review.....the white house already has it's own bust from the 60's in it's collection, BUT the bust that was returned, was loaned to Bush, and all art lent out is returned when the new prez comes in. Standard practice. So what's the PROBLEM? Geez, you guys will make a controversy out of a A-N-Y-T-H-I-N-G! NEWSFLASH: "OhMyGawd,this just in...Obama breathed the air when he was over in Europe. Well that must mean he's a socialist, it's official then!" (Good grief, half the people in this country are idiots if they believe this crap). Where were all your conspiracy theories when Bush was in office with all the stuff he pulled off? Oh I see, you have selective vision.

[fiddlestickawshucks]

That could be anybody's backside aimed at the camera, and that photo of Obama and ? could have been taken last week.1

[fiddlestickawshucks]

ABSOLUTELY.!!! DEFINITELY.!!! POSITIVELY.!!!

[nearl451]

No one really gives a crap in any way about the Churchill bust.

Romney hoped it might be an issue, but (like a lot of things he thinks a good wedge) it wasn't important to anyone. Not even the British, it seems.

Why even pay some paperdork to write an article that no one has the least interest in.

So go on to something of merit!!

[nearl451]

Put another way: "That' it!! I am NOT voting for OBAMA because he has no respect for Winston Churchill!!!"

Sound plausible?

[stormerF69]

Sounds reasonable to me Churchill was our one strongest supporter and ally during WWII,and it is shameful for a Kenyain born Harvard Grad to think anyone cares waht his Muslem father thought of the british.

[frankie2fing]

How many POTUS busts are in 10 Downey? I wouldn't care if there were none, just as the BRITS do not care about this! They are more worried about listening to idiots like dubya and the rest of the cons about thier ECONOMY which is now in the toilet because TOP DOWN DOES NOT WORK, never has. You build a piramid from the bottom up. But greed and ammoral thought usually has its way. And we learn nothing. This all happened exactly the same just after WWI. And unless we wake up and do something, 1929 will happen again, too. BTW, the rich survived the crash just fine, it was the tools who THOUGHT they were part of the rich that crashed with the rest of us. This is CLASS WARFARE, just not like THEY want you to believe. 10% control 80% of the nation's wealth. What they pay in TAXES is irrelavent. Taxes are a form of INCENTIVE. Since they will not WILLINGLY reinvest out of the goodness of their hearts (or souls, but they sold those long ago), high tax rates FORCE them to do it. This is why the economy was so strong during the years of the OPPRESSIVE high end tax years. Reagan convinced the working people that this was wrong and the dominoes clatter down to this day. The only hope to avoid depression is if WE, THE PEOPLE, wake up and vote out the elite party, the NO party, the SCREW YOU party and vote in MAJOR Democartic majorities. They are not a lot better, but at least they have a LITTLE heart for the working class of this Nation. Then we will have to keep their toes in the fire to get them to DO THE RIGHT THING....

[Well_You_Aint_Me]

PLEASE!

Is this all we Americans have to be concerned about?

[robert1129]

The Embassy tacked onto its statement a piece of advice: "Churchill Bust story is a silly diversion - let's get on and focus on seeing who wins most medals in the Olympics."
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The Embassay is 1000% right. BTW, who is Churchill?

[frankie2fing]

He was making a joke rod, you tool. But of course, teabaggers have no sense of humor, which is why you do not get THIS joke, and you think LIMPY'S jokes are funny. Try taking the boner's junk outta your mouth and engaging your brain.

[nohater]

churchill is long dead. he was a hero to the brits but not so much, if at all, to Americans. if the churchill bust is or is not in the WH means nothing to U.S. citizens. after all the brits are always criticizing Americans and they become offended if anyone criticizes their mainstream society or their privileged royalty. on this issue, if it is really an issue, the brits and conservative Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer can go pound salt. krauthammer, yegads what a name, can move to the land of the brits.

[fiddlestickawshucks]

I agree with chevyhotrod.!

In this instance, ignorance is not bliss.!!

[venusvegasvada]

Typical GOP

[marychgo]

The bust was on loan to the Bush administration. The Bush administration ended. The loan ended. The bust was returned to the British Embassy. How does ANY of that have anything to do with President Obama? Does Krauthammer think Obama should have begged the embassy to extend the loan?

Frankly, my dear, I prefer Lincoln!

[stormerF69]

It seems you have half truth on yourside the bust was a loan,but the British did ask Obama if he wanted to keep it on display,Obama refused,because his Muslem Father had a hair up his Butt about the British treatment of South Africa.