PARIS (AP) — President Joe Biden Trump ended his trip to France on Sunday, his final stop, paying his respects at a U.S. military cemetery he neglected to visit during his presidency. November Elections It became clearly visible.
It was a fitting end to five days in which Trump was an implicit but inevitable presence. On the surface, the trip was to mark the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings and celebrate the U.S.-French alliance. But in an election year in which Trump is calling into question fundamental perceptions of America’s global role, Biden also embraced his Republican predecessor, and would-be successor, as a potential challenger.
All hymns Transatlantic Partnership It was a reminder that Trump could upend these relationships. The reference to democracy He took a stand against his rival’s attempts to overturn the presidential election. To help defend Ukraine The U.S. stance toward Russia contrasted with President Trump’s skepticism about U.S. aid being offered.
Biden’s speech, extolling the battle between democracy and autocracy, drew praise in Europe, where the possibility of a return to Trump’s chaotic rule is stoking anxiety. But it remains to be seen how the message resonates with U.S. voters, as his team struggles to reconcile the Democratic president’s frequent stark warnings about his rival with everyday American concerns.
Biden plans to underscore that contrast by concluding his visit to France with a memorial to America’s war dead at the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery, about an hour’s drive northwest of Paris, where more than 2,000 American soldiers who fought in World War I are buried.
During a visit to France in 2018, President Trump canceled a planned visit to the cemetery, but the White House refused. Blamed on the weather At that time, however, Subsequent reports Trump reportedly told aides he didn’t want to go because he viewed the soldiers who died as “idiots” and “losers,” a claim Trump denied but later confirmed by then-Chief of Staff John Kelly.
Trump’s alleged insults have become a staple of Biden’s election speeches. A rally held in Scranton, Pennsylvania in April.
“Like every American who has served this country, these soldiers were heroes,” Biden said. “To believe otherwise disqualifies me from holding this office.”
Maura Sullivan, a former Marine Corps officer who served on the American War Memorials Commission under President Barack Obama, said Biden’s visit was about “leading by example and doing what a president should do.” Sullivan, now a New Hampshire Democratic Party official, said “voters can draw their own conclusions” about the visit.
Biden’s visit was filled with emotional moments, with the president looking heavy-eyed after meeting with World War II veterans as a 21-gun salute cast an eerie plume of smoke over the 9,388 white marble headstones at the Normandy American Military Cemetery.
“This has been the most incredible journey I’ve ever been on,” Biden said Saturday night in Paris, his final stop before returning to the United States.
His comments over the past few days have also been loaded with political overtones.
Speaking at a Normandy commemoration on Thursday, Biden said the Normandy landings were a reminder that alliances make the U.S. stronger and a “lesson that the American people must never forget.” He also highlighted the use of immigrants, women and people of color in the war effort, who are often overlooked by history.
And on Friday, he visited Pointe du Hoc, the coastal spot where Army Rangers scaled the cliffs to break through Nazi defenses on Normandy landings and where President Ronald Reagan gave one of his most memorable speeches in 1984 about the struggle between the West and the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
By following in the footsteps of that Republican icon, Mr. Biden has honed his appeal to traditional conservatives who have often resented Mr. Trump’s isolationist vision. Mr. Biden called on Americans to defend democracy like the rangers who scaled the cliffs, a message that dovetailed with campaign rhetoric that portrayed his opponent as an existential threat to American values.
While Biden was in France, his campaign announced it had hired former Republican congressman Adam Kinzinger, a former chief of staff, to lead its outreach to Republican voters. Kinzinger has been at odds with Trump’s foreign policy and efforts to overturn the last presidential election.
Speaking at Pointe du Hoc, Biden said Army Rangers “fought to crush hateful ideas in the 1930s and 1940s. Who doubts that they wouldn’t move heaven and earth to crush hateful ideas today?”
Trump, on the other hand, has argued that the United States should focus more on its own problems rather than foreign alliances and conflicts. He has also consistently downplayed the importance of U.S. partnerships and suggested the U.S. could abandon its treaty obligations to protect its European allies if they do not adequately cover their own defense costs.
Douglas Brinkley, a presidential historian who wrote a book about Pointe du Hoc and Reagan’s speeches, said Biden chose the same location because “it was a great responsibility.”
Brinkley said Biden’s speech “did not and cannot match Reagan’s in grandeur,” but he said Biden “said the right things about why democracy matters.”
Veteran Democratic strategist Paul Begala said it could be politically advantageous for Biden to “stand where Reagan stood.”
He noted that while Biden is struggling among younger voters, he appears to be gaining support among older voters who are reminded of President Reagan’s speeches 40 years ago.
“Trump needs a lot of Reagan Republicans to overcome the challenge of winning over young voters,” he said.
Biden’s trip was also highlighted by the pomp of a state visit in Paris.
French President Emmanuel Macron held a ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe, which included a flyover by four fighter jets, and hosted a dinner at the Elysee Palace.
“United we stand, divided we fall,” Macron said as he toasted Biden. “We are allies and we will remain allies.”
Overall, Biden’s visit was slower paced than his other international trips. The 81-year-old president had no public events on his first day in Paris after arriving on an overnight flight and did not hold the customary news conference, which national security spokesman John Kirby said was necessary to prepare “ahead of key events” in the coming days.
“There’s a lot planned,” he said.
Still, this contrasted with Macron’s tendency to treat his prestigious guests to a packed schedule combining official talks, business meetings, cultural events and private dinners at fine restaurants.
When the 46-year-old French president hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping last month, the two-day itinerary was packed with activities, including a trip to the Pyrenees Mountains near the Spanish border, where Macron spent his childhood.
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Associated Press writer Sylvie Corbett contributed to this report.
