President Biden ended his five-day trip to France with a Sunday visit to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery, where more than 2,200 American soldiers were buried after fighting in World War I.
Biden laid a wreath on the tombstones of American soldiers in a solemn ceremony that marked their sacrifice for their country.
In comments to the press, Biden emphasized the importance of alliances and, without explicitly mentioning former President Trump, drew a stark contrast with the former president, who famously did not visit the same cemetery in 2018. Trump cited the climate at the time, but subsequent reporting revealed that Trump expressed disinterest in visiting the cemetery, about an hour from Paris, calling the fallen soldiers “losers” and “suckers”. Trump denied these reports.
Biden did not respond to a question about Trump. But when asked why he is visiting the cemetery, Biden rejected “the idea that I could come to Normandy and not make the short trip down here to pay respects.”
“It’s the same story,” Biden said. “America appeared. America showed up to stop the Germans. America showed up to ensure it would not prevail. And America shows up when we are needed, just as our allies show up for us.”
Biden noted that there was a new “growing sense among some” in the United States in favor of becoming semi-isolationist.
“This is not who we are, who America is,” Biden added.
Biden emphasized the importance of maintaining strong alliances to avoid future wars.
“The idea that we managed to avoid involvement in major battles in Europe. It’s simply not realistic. That’s why it’s so important that we continue to have that, the allies that we have, that we continue to strengthen those alliances… that we continue to keep NATO strong, that we continue to do what we’ve been able to do since the end of the Second World War. . ,” Biden said.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
