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Politics

21st Jan 2021

Joe Biden has removed a bust of Winston Churchill from the Oval Office

In his first official day as President of the United States, Joe Biden removed a bust of Winston Churchill from the Oval Office

Alex Roberts

A Churchill sculpture was given as a gift to George W. Bush by Tony Blair.

Joe Biden has removed a bust of Winston Churchill from the Oval Office, it has been confirmed.

Biden was inaugurated yesterday as the 46th President of the United States, and has already gone about righting the wrongs of his predecessor Donald Trump.

Biden began his first term in office by signing a number of executive orders on a host of issues, including Covid-19, the environment, immigration and ethics.

In his initial acts as 46th President, he signed no less than 15 executive orders – the first of which were targeted to boost the federal response to the coronavirus crisis.

On the issue of Covid-19, sources told CNN that Biden has had to inherit an almost non-existent vaccination plan from Donald Trump.

It has also emerged that Biden has made some adjustments to the interior of the Oval Office, too – namely removing a bust of Winston Churchill.

A sculpture of the wartime British Prime Minister was given as a gift to George W. Bush by Tony Blair. During Barack Obama’s tenure, it was removed and replaced with one of civil rights leader Martin Luther King.

George W. Bush was given a bust of Winston Churchill by former Prime Minister Tony Blair. (Photo: Getty)

When Trump took over, he decided to display a bust of Churchill again – a move egged on by former UKIP leader, Trump fan Nigel Farage.

Now Biden has taken over officially, the bust is no longer present. In its place, the 46th President has put a statue of labour campaigner Cesar Chavez, founder of the National Farm Workers Association (now United Farm Workers).

Chavez was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1993 for his efforts in organising a grape workers strike.

Cesar Chavez’ son Paul is now President of the Cesar Chavez Foundation.

He said: “Placing a bust of my father in the Oval Office symbolises the hopeful new day that is dawning for our nation.

“That isn’t just because it honours my dad, but more importantly because it represents faith and empowerment for an entire people on whose behalf he fought and sacrificed.”

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