Visiting the military cemetery in France, Biden tries to draw a contrast with Trump

PARIS — Not once on his trip to France did the President Joe Biden to speak donald trumpname.

Near the graves of American soldiers killed in two world wars, Biden avoided making overt references to his Republican rival or the presidential campaign in his country.

Yet in a sense, Trump figured in virtually all of Biden’s comments during his five-day visit. At every step, Biden has implicitly denounced Trump’s quasi-isolationist foreign policy outlook as the antithesis of what is needed to remove autocratic leaders who threaten democratic states.

The trip culminated with Biden’s visit on Sunday to a military cemetery rich in political symbolism. Located about an hour from Paris, the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery is the burial site of 2,289 Americans who died in World War I.

Trump avoided the cemetery when he was in France six years ago to mark the 100th anniversary of the war. Your advisors have mentioned climatic conditions as the reason he didn’t show up.

But John Kelly, who was Trump’s longest-serving White House chief of staff, has since given a statement confirming a report in The Atlantic in 2020, Trump called the war dead “losers” and did not want to visit the cemetery.

(Trump denied making the comment. Chris LaCivita, Trump’s 2024 campaign co-manager, called the report “false and completely debunked,” adding: “The fact is that severe weather conditions that day prevented the safe transportation of the president and guests to the cemetery, and he participated in a ceremony at Suresnes American Cemetery the next day.”)

The American Battle Monuments Commission manages 12 different cemeteries in France, according to their website. Why did Biden choose the one Trump ignored?

He told reporters it was because of the extraordinary number of Marines who died there in the First World War. However, there is also a political windfall that Biden campaign has been trying to collect: his appearance cannot fail to draw attention to Trump’s absence in 2018.

“The idea of ​​coming to Normandy and not making the short trip here to pay respects…” Biden’s voice trailed off before finishing the thought.

A theme running through the trip was Biden’s celebration of America’s network of alliances. They helped the United States prevail in past wars and are needed today to stop Russian President Vladimir Putin from defeating Ukraine and threatening the rest of Europe, he said.

At the cemetery, Biden said that “the best way to avoid these types of battles in the future is to stand strong with our allies. Don’t break it. Don’t break it.”

Biden is betting that Americans prefer his outward stance to a more nationalist vision that Trump and many of his supporters have embraced.

As commander in chief, Trump has blamed longtime allies for not shelling out enough money for defense and leaving the task of providing a security umbrella to the United States.

He considered leaving the NATO alliance while in office, former aides said. And he reinforced his position in February when he said he would leave Russia “do whatever the hell they want” to NATO allies who do not spend enough money on their own defense.

The election could prove to be a referendum on which of the two approaches voters prefer. In his press statements on Sunday, Biden appeared to disagree with the notion that Americans have become “semi-isolationists.”

“We’re not like that,” he said. “That’s not who America is.”

The trip was peaceful for the president. One of the few failures was not caused by it, a US official said. There was a delay of about 45 minutes before the start of Thursday’s ceremony in Normandy, which marks the 80th anniversary of the D-Day invasion.

Veterans in their 90s and 100s shivered in their wheelchairs in the afternoon chill as they waited for the event to begin. A US official told NBC News that the process was delayed because French President Emmanuel Macron arrived late.

At a time when millions of voters believe that Biden, 81, is very old for work, the trip was also fortuitous for him, as it yielded many photos showing him alongside World War II veterans old enough to be his father.

While exchanging toasts with Biden at the Elysee Palace on Saturday, Macron pointed to 100-year-old veteran Harold Terens, who was sitting at a table with his fiancee, 96-year-old Jeanne Swerlin.

“They are with us today and they are just saying their wedding vows,” Macron said, through a translator. “Then let’s congratulate the young newlyweds.”

On Wednesday, Biden will leave again for Europe for the Group of Seven (G7) summit in southern Italy.

However, something else may be weighing on your mind. Your son Hunter faces criminal gun charges and his trial in Wilmington, Delaware, resumes Monday. The indictment closed the case and the president may soon know whether his only surviving son has been found innocent or guilty.

This article was originally published in NBCNews. with