PARIS – The president did not do that even once during his visit to France Joe Biden to talk Donald Trumpname of
Standing next to the graves of American soldiers killed in two world wars, Biden avoided overt references to his Republican opponent or the country’s presidential campaign.
In some ways, however, Trump reflected on nearly all of Biden’s remarks during his speech a five-day trip. At every turn, Biden has publicly denounced Trump’s quasi-isolationist foreign policy vision as the opposite of what is needed to fend off autocratic leaders who threaten democracies.
The trip concluded with Biden’s visit to a military cemetery rich in political symbolism on Sunday. About an hour from Paris, the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery is the burial place of 2,289 Americans who died in World War I.
Trump escaped the cemetery six years ago while in France to mark the 100th anniversary of the war. He has assistants he referred to the weather conditions as the reason for not showing.
But John Kelly, Trump’s longest-serving White House chief of staff, has since taken over made a statement confirms the report Atlantic In 2020, Trump called the war dead “losers” and refused to visit the cemetery.
(Trump declined to comment. Chris LaCivita, Trump’s 2024 campaign manager, called the report “false and thoroughly debunked,” adding, “The fact remains that inclement weather that day prevented the president and guests from being safely transported to the cemetery.” and attended a ceremony the next day at the Suresnes American Cemetery.”)
The American War Memorials Commission manages 12 different cemeteries in France. according to their website. Why did Biden choose someone Trump skipped?
He told reporters that this was because of the extraordinary number of Marines who died there in the First World War. However, there is also a political setback. Biden’s campaign was looking to reap: his appearance can’t help but draw attention to Trump’s absence in 2018.
“The idea that I came to Normandy and didn’t make a short trip here to pay my respects—” Biden’s voice trailed off before he could complete his thought.
The theme of the visit was Biden’s celebration of America’s network of alliances. They have helped the United States win past wars and are needed today to prevent Russian President Vladimir Putin from defeating Ukraine and threatening the rest of Europe, he said.
At the cemetery, Biden said, “the best way to avoid these kinds of fights in the future is to stay strong with our allies. Don’t break. Don’t break it.”
Biden is betting that Americans prefer his foreign stance to the more nationalistic vision Trump and many of his supporters have embraced.
As commander-in-chief, Trump has long accused his allies of not spending enough on defense and leaving it to the United States to provide a security umbrella.
Former aides said he considered leaving NATO while in office. He doubled down on his position in February when he said he would allow Russia “Do whatever they want” to NATO allies who are not spending enough on their defense.
The election could prove a referendum on which of the two approaches voters prefer. In a press release on Sunday, Biden disputed the notion that Americans are “semi-isolationist.”
“That’s not who we are,” he said. “It’s not who America is.”
The visit was very comfortable for the president. A US official said that one of the several malfunctions was not his fault. The start of a ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of the D-Day invasion in Normandy on Thursday was delayed by about 45 minutes.
Veterans in their 90s and 100s sat shivering in their wheelchairs in the afternoon chill as they waited for the event to begin. A US official told NBC News that the trial was delayed because French President Emmanuel Macron was late.
At a time when millions of voters believe that the 81-year-old Biden very old for work, the trip was also fortuitous for him, as many pictures were made of him with WWII veterans old enough to be his father.
During a toast with Biden at the Elysee Palace on Saturday, Macron showed Harold Terence, a 100-year-old veteran, sitting at the table with his fiancee Jeanne Swerlin, 96.
“They are with us today and they are just saying their wedding vows,” Macron said through a translator. “So let’s congratulate the young newlyweds.”
On Wednesday, Biden will leave for Europe again for the Group of Seven (G7) summit to be held in southern Italy.
Although something else may be on his mind. Son Hunter faces felony weapons charges and his trial in Wilmington, Del., continues Monday. The prosecution dropped the case, and the president may soon find out if his surviving son is innocent or guilty.