Biden in France on D-Day anniversary, will emphasize contrast with Trump

Biden will land in Normandy with more than two dozen heads of state, as well as dozens of World War II veterans, some of whom are more than a century old. They will honor troops from the United States, Canada and Britain who landed in France on June 6, 1944, in an assault that laid the foundation for the defeat of the Nazis.

On Friday, Biden is scheduled to deliver a speech on democracy and freedom, giving him an opportunity to present the struggle against authoritarianism as a global one, according to the White House. A day later, he will meet President Emmanuel Macron for his first state visit to France as president.

The theme of this week’s celebrations — the brotherhood of nations united in sacrifice to defeat authoritarianism — is one that factors heavily into Biden’s message in his campaign against Trump. The Biden campaign argues that the former president, who baselessly denies his 2020 defeat, is a potential authoritarian who would subvert American democracy if he won.

The contrast with Trump will likely remain largely latent, but it will be hard to ignore. Biden has turned a controversy over Trump’s visit to France a decade and a half ago, also timed to mark D-Day, into a routine attack, citing reports that the former president was reluctant to honor American soldiers buried in a French cemetery and that he allegedly called fallen troops “fools” and “losers.”

Trump has categorically denied making the remark. But Biden again addressed the reports at a fundraiser in Connecticut on Monday.

“‘Loser and idiot!’ What does he think he is?” she said, her voice growing louder. “This man is not fit to be president, whether I run or not.”

During his presidency, Biden emphasized the task of rebuilding alliances damaged by Trump and working to restore America’s role as a world leader, rejecting Trump’s “America First” agenda and denouncing him as a man who was mocked by his peers.

Biden has also criticized Trump for saying he would encourage Russia to “do whatever it takes” to NATO members if they don’t spend their share on defense. And he has warned that Trump would give a free hand to authoritarian leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, who invaded Ukraine more than two years ago.

But as Biden arrived in France, his disagreements with other Western leaders emerged over some aspects of his foreign policy, particularly the US role in the violence that erupted in Ukraine and Gaza.

According to the French government, Biden and Macron will discuss “the need for unwavering, long-term support for Ukraine,” but this comes at a time when global support for the war that is approaching three years has waned, including in the United States.

Biden has faced political criticism at home and abroad for his staunch support of Israel’s invasion of Gaza, as the death toll there has climbed to more than 36,000, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Israel launched its military operation in the Palestinian territory on October 7 after Hamas militants crossed into Israel and killed nearly 1,200 people and took more than 250 hostage, according to Israeli officials.

Despite all this, Biden’s visit can be compared to Trump’s visit to France during his presidency.

Five years ago, Trump visited Normandy for the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings, and gave a speech honoring the soldiers who gave their lives at the historic site. Macron and other leaders praised international institutions such as NATO and the European Union in their speeches, but Trump spent little time praising the alliances that emerged from World War II, instead sticking to an “America First” theme.

Trump also was criticized for using a Fox News interview while at the Normandy American Cemetery to rail against his political enemies. With the white, cross-shaped graves of fallen soldiers in the background, Trump called former special counsel Robert S. Mueller III an “idiot” and attacked then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) as a “disaster.”

Presidential historian Douglas Brinkley said Biden doesn’t need to name Trump to provide a vivid contrast with his predecessor’s “disastrous” presence on the world stage.

“Just by talking about how these people died trying to destroy authoritarianism, it will be presumed that Trump messed up his trip,” Brinkley said. “But [Biden] Political controversy must be avoided. It would be very inappropriate to directly attack Trump when you are on the sacred ground of the cemetery.

Trump also visited Paris in 2018, a trip that became controversial when he decided not to stop at a cemetery where US soldiers were buried. A report from The Atlantic said Trump privately disrespected the soldiers buried there, a detail that was later confirmed by his then-chief of staff, however. Others on the trip said bad weather was responsible for Trump’s decision.

However, one of Biden’s final stops in France will be to lay a wreath at the World War I-era Aisne-Marne American Cemetery, a site Trump did not visit.

Biden is likely to get a warmer welcome in France than Trump. The former president was unpopular among the French people, while Biden, who invited Macron to Washington for his administration’s first state visit in 2022, is generally well-liked here. Most US presidents who visit around battle anniversaries are enthusiastically welcomed in France, a country where the memory of the United States’ role in helping end World War II is still very much alive.

Renaud Girard, an international columnist for French newspaper Le Figaro, said Biden’s strong support for Ukraine has also won him support in France. “Biden will be well received because the majority of the French population, while not anti-Russian, considers Russia’s aggression in 2022 unacceptable,” he said.

However, Biden may face another divisive issue: the war in Gaza. Biden’s strong support for Israel is at odds with the views of a segment of French society that believes Israel “went too far in its retaliation after October 7,” Girard said.

Anti-war protests occur regularly in France. The most recent demonstration in Paris on Saturday drew 22,000 people, according to police. Some activist groups have planned protests this week, though they are not explicitly linked to Biden’s visit.

Still, Girard said, “the French public has understood that Biden has done everything possible to achieve a ceasefire,” including his recent announcement of a plan for a “permanent end to the war.” In France, “Biden is not compared to Netanyahu,” Girard said.

Delivering a poignant speech on the beaches of Normandy has become a tradition for U.S. presidents, who have used this setting to praise American service members and the global order they have created. The Normandy landings were the largest combined naval, air and land assault ever conducted, and despite heavy casualties, the successful operation helped establish the U.S. military as the world’s premier fighting force.

In 1984, President Ronald Reagan delivered a rousing speech at Pointe du Hoc that is considered one of his most memorable.

“These are the boys of Pointe du Hoc,” Reagan said. “These are the men who climbed the cliffs. These are the champions who helped liberate a continent. These are the heroes who helped end a war.”

Biden, who like Reagan at the time is battling low approval ratings on foreign policy and seeking re-election, also plans to give a speech at Pointe du Hoc. Reagan won re-election in a landslide, something Biden is undoubtedly hoping to replicate, said Brinkley, whose book “The Boys of Pointe du Hoc” examined Reagan’s speech and the American soldiers who fought there.

“This is an opportunity for Biden to demonstrate a soulful understanding of the costs of war,” he said.

Olorunnipa reported from Washington.