Winston Churchill bust RETURNS to Trump’s Oval Office after it was REMOVED by Obama

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The bust has been returned to the Oval Office for the first time in seven years.

The Jacob Epstein sculpture was given to George W Bush by Tony Blair during his presidency, but was replaced with a bust of Martin Luther King by Barack Obama in 2009.
The outgoing President’s decision to remove the bust infuriated critics in Britain and the US.

But Obama defended himself with claims he kept the bust in his private quarters.
The Democrat said: “My private office is called the Treaty Room. Right outside the door of the Treaty Room so that I see it every day, including on weekends when I’m going into that office to watch a basketball game, the primary image I see is a bust of Winston Churchill.”
But this was not enough to convince critics, with then-London mayor Boris Johnson suggesting the decision was fuelled by what he labelled Obama’s “ancestral dislike of the British Empire”.

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The bust was removed by Obama in 2010 and replaced with a bust of Martin Luther King.

Mr Trump suggested to the New York Times in November that he was ready to return the bust to the Oval Office.
When asked by the New York Times if he was going to bring back the bust of Britain’s esteemed Tory hero, Trump replied “I am, indeed, I am”.
Now, hours after his historic inauguration as the 45th president of the United States, Mr Trump had the bust returned to its former pride of place.

Donald Trump becomes 45th U.S. PRESIDENT
Fri, January 20, 2017

The inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45th President of the United States will mark the commencement of the four-year term of Donald Trump as President and Mike Pence as Vice President. A public ceremony will be held on Friday, January 20, 2017, on the West Front of the United States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.

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US President Donald Trump points to the stands as he walks with his wife Melania during the Inaugural Parade.

Nigel Farage, who has become a close ally with Mr Trump, made the case to return the bust after the presidential election more than two months ago.
The former Ukip leader described Donald Trump as an "anglophile" and said his re-installation of the Churchill statue was a clear sign of his appreciation for the historically warm relationship between the allies.
He said: "At the end of our time with Trump we asked him if the bust of Sir Winston Churchill that Obama had removed from the Oval Office could be put back in its rightful place. He enthusiastically thought that was a good idea. Need I say more?"

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