White House Distances Itself From The Poem On The Statue Of Liberty

● The Trump White House Needs Another Lesson in Historical Thinking By John Fea

● Top 5 Great Power Realist Reasons Trump is Wrong on Immigration By Juan Cole

● The Ugly History of Stephen Miller’s ‘Cosmopolitan’ Epithet By Jeff Greenfield

While being questioned about President Donald Trump’s immigration efforts, White House aide Stephen Miller on Wednesday denied that “The New Colossus,” the poem inscribed on the Statue of Liberty, had any meaning because it was added after the statue was erected.

During the daily White House press briefing, Miller expanded on a new Senate bill pertaining to immigration reform that would favor English-speaking applicants.

CNN’s Jim Acosta questioned Miller about whether that bill is “keeping with American tradition” and cited the most famous portion of “The New Colossus”: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”

Miller brushed off Acosta’s reference, arguing that the poem written by Emma Lazarus was “added later” and has no significance. 

“I don’t want to get off into a whole thing about history here, but the Statue of Liberty is a symbol of liberty and lighting in the world; it’s a symbol of American liberty lighting the world. The poem that you’re referring to was added later. It’s not actually part of the Statue of Liberty,” Miller argued.

It’s true that “The New Colossus,” which was never intended to be a statement of political policy, was added to the Statue of Liberty in 1903 and that the statue itself was dedicated in 1886. But they are widely associated with each other: The poem was written to help raise funds for the statue’s pedestal and is currently featured on a bronze tablet in the museum in the base of the Statue of Liberty. Sections of the National Park Service’s website about the statue are devoted to the poem and Lazarus.