The Oval: Churchill's Bust

August 22, 2012

Wilson

Writer

Good afternoon.

When there is a change in leadership in this nation…

On January 20, one president moves out of here.

And a new president moves in.

In between, there are a few hours.

And during those few hours,

A crew comes into this office.

And they do the fastest room makeover you’ve ever seen.

Some things stay.

This desk, the Resolute.

It stays.

But everything else turns over.

They put in a new carpet.

The new president chooses the style.

Light blue or dark… or goldenrod yellow?

They paint the walls a new color.

Cream or eggshell or taupe?

The new president chooses that, too.

They put in whatever the new president wants.

New art.

New curtains.

New photos.

New furniture.

They also move out some things.

Whatever the new president DOESN’T want.

When Bush worked in this space, he liked western art.

Obama had his own preferences.

So when Obama came in, the western art… it was taken off the walls.

Look, that’s the way it goes.

New presidents have the right to choose their art. That’s fine.

But not everything in this office is art.

Some of what you see in the Oval Office…

Reflects more than the artistic tastes of the president.

Some of it reflects the world view of the president.

Take this piece right here. [Bust of Churchill]

A bust of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

One of America’s greatest friends ever.

Churchill was Great Britain’s leader during World War II.

He saw that war coming.

He warned against appeasement of Hitler.

And when war came, he appealed to America…

To support Great Britain in that great struggle.

In 1941, Great Britain was alone in the war.

America was still neutral…

While Germany’s planes routinely bombarded London at night.

Churchill wrote to President Roosevelt:

“Put your confidence in us.

Give us your faith and your blessing.

And under Providence, all will be well.

We shall not fail nor falter.

We shall not weaken or tire.

Neither sudden shock of battle

Nor the long drawn trials of vigilance

Will wear us down

Give us the tools and we will finish the job!”

Churchill was supremely confident in America.

More confident in America than America was in herself.

Churchill’s mother was an American.

He had visited it…

Gotten to know its people…

And he understood America.

He believed in America.

He knew that America would have to enter the war…

To preserve freedom.

Because he believed that America was a great nation…

…Ready to take its role in the world.

He was like our British uncle.

Caring. Familiar.

But stern.

And he was a lone voice against weakness.

Against timidity.

Against surrender.

After the war, after victory,

He warned us not to let down our guard.

He gave the “Iron Curtain” speech…

And described the Soviet domination over half of Europe…

…and the moral evil of Communism taking root everywhere.

And his voice…

Like a warning uncle…

Was the voice we needed.

In war… as in peace.

So, after 9/11,

Great Britain’s Ambassador to the United States,

Acting at the request of Prime Minister Tony Blair,

Gave this bust to President Bush…

Not as a gift. But as a loan.

A permanent loan, if we would have it.

A loan as long as we needed it…

A loan as long as was necessary…

To inspire the occupant of this office.

To give him strength.

To ward off weakness.

To remind him, that Britain was always an ally.

And a special friend.

But on January 20, 2009, President Bush left.

President Obama moved in.

And shortly thereafter, the British Ambassador was told:

“We don’t need your Churchill anymore.”

“We’re giving it back…. Here…. Take it.”

The British got the message.

Whatever the lessons of Churchill…

Whatever he said to inspire America…

In war…

In difficult times…

In courageous defiance of aggression.

All that was done.

In the past.

And over.

America, our new president, might say…

Was ready to move forward.

Not restricted by its past promises…

Nor even by its founding documents.

Or its longest alliances.

I wonder what Uncle Winston might have said…

About this.

About being kicked out of the Oval Office.

Perhaps he would have seen it as inevitable.

Churchill was a realist, after all.

He understood human nature.

America, like all free nations,

Goes through periods of vigilance…

Followed by periods of weakness.

Certainty of purpose…

Followed by periods of confusion.

I suppose he would recognize what kind of period we’re in now.

I suppose he would have been resigned to his fate.

“I am just artwork,” he might say.

“Just a chiseled piece of marble…

“And in stony silence, I can do nothing…

“Say nothing.

“My power depends on the living.

“And if they need me,

“If they want me,

“I’ll be there.

“But if they don’t…

“It matters not…

“Whether I sit on the shelves of the powerful.

“Or on a dusty box in an ambassador’s library.”

And I think Uncle Winston is correct.

It matters little who sits over here (gesture to the shelf).

What matters …

Is who sits over there (gesture to chair).

Our leaders have a right to find inspiration…

…Wherever they find it.

In history.

Or somewhere else.

But where they find that inspiration…

Tells us who they are.

What they like.

And what they believe.

A president who values the example of Winston Churchill…

Who values having him in this office…

Is someone who understands history.

Understands what Great Britain means for America.

And what American means for Great Britain.

Someone who looks to Uncle Winston…

Values above all…

Those immortal words of his:

We shall defend our island,

Whatever the cost may be.

We shall fight on the beaches,

We shall fight on the landing grounds,

We shall fight in the fields

And in the streets,

We shall fight in the hills.

We shall never surrender.

Of course, to be inspired by these words…

Means you must believe them true today.

Are we under attack?

Is our nation at risk?

Do enemies threaten us in our homes and our streets?

If you don’t think so,

Then the words of Churchill mean nothing to you.

Perhaps our current president thinks…

That the words of Churchill belong to history.

And are no longer relevant.

But just watch.

History has a way of waking us up.

America is like Great Britain in the 1930s.

Powerful.

But asleep.

And the threats are building.

So perhaps the current president thinks America is done with Winston Churchill.

But Winston Churchill is not done with America.

And we’ll need him again soon.

Thanks for watching.

May God bless you, and may God bless this republic.

He was not a man who suffered fools…

And he had a long memory for his enemies.

He had a tenacious loyalty to the truth…

And an unyielding faith in the tide of history.

He believed that freedom was the desire of all mankind.

But that freedom would have to be defended in every generation.

He committed to defend the freedom of the British Empire…

And against the threats of fascism…and communism.

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There was a time when both the Left and the Right agreed that parents have the final say in raising their children... Not anymore.

In the People's Republic of California, the STATE, not parents, will determine whether children should undergo transgender treatments. The California state legislature just passed a law that will require judges in child custody cases to consider whether parents support a child’s gender transition. According to the law, the state now thinks total affirmation is an integral part of a child’s “health, safety, and welfare.”

We are inching closer to a dystopia where the state, not the parents, have ultimate rights over their children, a history that people from former Soviet nations would feign repeating.

Glenn dove into the law AND MORE in this episode titled, "Parental Advisory: The EXPLICIT plot to control YOUR kids." To get all the research that went into this episode AND information on how YOU can fight back, enter your email address below:

If you didn't catch Wednesday night's Glenn TV special, be sure to check it out HERE!

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GUILLERMO ARIAS / Contributor | Getty Images

There are currently an estimated 16.8 MILLION illegal aliens residing in the United States as of June 2023, according to the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR). This number is already 1.3 million higher than FAIR's January 2022 estimate of 15.5 million and a 2.3 million increase from its end-of-2020 estimate. Even Democrats like New York City's Mayor Adams Mayor Adams are waking up to what Conservatives have been warning for years: we are in a border CRISIS.

However, this isn't the same border crisis that Republicans were warning about back in 2010. In the first two years of the Biden administration alone, the illegal alien population increased by 16 PERCENT nationwide, imposing a whopping net cost of $150.6 BILLION PER YEAR on American taxpayers. That is nearly DOUBLE the total amount that the Biden administration has sent to Ukraine.

This isn't the same border crisis that Republicans were warning about back in 2010.

These large numbers often make it difficult to conceptualize the sheer impact of illegal immigration on the United States. To put it in perspective, we have listed ALL 15 states and the District of Colombia that have smaller populations than the 2.3 MILLION illegal immigrants, who have entered the U.S. under the Biden administration. That is more than the entire populations of Wyoming, Vermont, and South Dakota COMBINED—and the American taxpayers have to pay the price.

Here are all 16 states/districts that have FEWER people than the illegal immigrants who have entered the U.S. under the Biden administration.

1. New Mexico

Population: 2,110,011

2. Idaho

Population: 1,973,752

3. Nebraska

Population: 1,972,292

4. West Virginia

Population: 1,764,786

5. Hawaii

Population: 1,433,238

6. New Hampshire

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8. Montana

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Population: 1,090,483

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Population: 1,031,985

11. South Dakota

Population: 923,484

12. North Dakota

Population: 780,588

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14. Washington DC

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15. Vermont

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POLL: Should the Government control the future of AI?

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Tech Titans and Senators gathered in the Kennedy Caucus Room.The Washington Post / Contributor | Getty Images

The meeting was closed to the public, so what was exactly discussed is unknown. However, what we do know is that a majority of the CEOs support AI regulation, the most vocal of which is Elon Musk. During the meeting, Musk called AI "a double-edged sword" and strongly pushed for regulation in the interest of public safety.

A majority of the CEOs support AI regulation.

Many other related issues were discussed, including the disruption AI has caused to the job market. As Glenn has discussed on his program, the potential for AI to alter or destroy jobs is very real, and many have already felt the effects. From taxi drivers to Hollywood actors and writers, AI's presence can be felt everywhere and lawmakers are unsure how to respond.

The potential for AI to alter or destroy jobs is very real.

Ultimately, the meeting's conclusion was less than decisive, with several Senators making comments to the tune of "we need more time before we act." The White House is expected to release an executive order regarding AI regulation by the end of the year. But now it's YOUR turn to tell us what YOU think needs to be done!

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