Photo: Alamy
In 2019, President Donald Trump delivered a stirring speech in commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the D-Day invasion in Normandy, France, speaking to a crowd at the Normandy American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer.
He declared, “We are gathered here on Freedom’s Altar. On these shores, on these bluffs, on this day 75 years ago, 10,000 men shed their blood, and thousands sacrificed their lives, for their brothers, for their countries, and for the survival of liberty.”
The president’s speech was centered on an appreciation for the greatest generation, the importance of their sacrifices and battles for freedom, and the gratitude for those troops who stormed the beaches of Normandy to secure victory in the grueling Second World War.
President Trump continued, “When you were young, these men enlisted their lives in a Great Crusade — one of the greatest of all times. Their mission is the story of an epic battle and the ferocious, eternal struggle between good and evil.”
He acknowledged the diversity of the armed forces who contributed to the Normandy operation, highlighting the fighting spirit of the Polish, Norwegian, French, and Australian forces.
“The GIs who boarded the landing craft that morning knew that they carried on their shoulders not just the pack of a soldier, but the fate of the world,” President Trump said solemnly.
In a patriotic and somber conclusion, the president added:
“Seven decades ago, the warriors of D-Day fought a sinister enemy who spoke of a thousand-year empire. In defeating that evil, they left a legacy that will last not only for a thousand years, but for all time — for as long as the soul knows of duty and honor; for as long as freedom keeps its hold on the human heart.
To the men who sit behind me, and to the boys who rest in the field before me, your example will never, ever grow old. Your legend will never tire. Your spirit — brave, unyielding, and true — will never die.
The blood that they spilled, the tears that they shed, the lives that they gave, the sacrifice that they made, did not just win a battle. It did not just win a war. Those who fought here won a future for our nation. They won the survival of our civilization. And they showed us the way to love, cherish, and defend our way of life for many centuries to come.”
The president’s commemoration of D-Day was a masterclass in patriotic respect and leadership. It is a stark contrast to Joe Biden’s visit to Normandy on the 80th anniversary of the famed invasion on Thursday.
Biden appeared confused during his appearance, and at one point even attempted to take a seat on an invisible chair. Biden also oddly decided to bring up the number of Russian casualties in their ongoing war with Ukraine in the middle of his speech, and was later rapidly escorted away by his wife, Jill Biden, in what was perhaps a desperate attempt to reel in any more potential gaffes.
See the instances here:
The differences between Joe Biden and President Donald Trump have never been clearer than in the side-by-side comparison of each leader’s separate D-Day commemoration speeches and ceremonies.