LONDON - After promising not to criticize American policies while abroad, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney on Thursday took a swipe at President Obama's decision in 2009 to remove the bust of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill from the Oval Office, a decision that ruffled the feathers of some Brits.
"I'm looking forward to the bust of Winston Churchill being in the Oval Office again," Romney told a crowd of about 250 people at a Thursday evening fundraiser at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel following a day of meetings with current and former British leaders.
The bronze torso of Churchill had been loaned to President George W. Bush following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and although it was due to be returned when Obama took office, British officials offered to extend the loan for another four years. Obama declined, and replaced the Churchill bust with one of President Abraham Lincoln, a Republican figure in history Obama admires.