US Republican presidential hopeful, Jeb Bush has said he would choose the former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher as the face of the new $10 bill.
The former Florida governor made his surprise suggestion during a TV debate for the leading candidates bidding to secure the party’s presidential nomination.
The White House announced early in the summer that a new-look $10 note, featuring a woman for the first time, would be introduced at the end of the decade.
The Treasury Department is seeking suggestions from the public on which woman should appear on the note.
One of the questions put to the 11 candidates in the TV debate was who their choice would be for the redesigned bill.
Bush drew applause for his choice of the UK’s first woman prime minister, who continues to be held in high esteem by Republicans in America.
Nicknamed the ‘Iron Lady’ by the Soviets, she enjoyed a close political and personal relationship with US president Ronald Reagan, based on their shared view of communism and the free market.
Bush said: “I would go with Ronald Reagan’s partner, Margaret Thatcher.”
Acknowledging this was unlikely, given she was not an American, Bush said: “Probably illegal but what the heck since it’s not going to happen.”
But he added that “A strong leader is what we need in the White House, and she certainly was a strong leader that restored the United Kingdom to greatness.”
Other candidates chose family members including the maverick billionaire Donald Trump, who jokingly suggested his daughter Ivanka.
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