President Biden on Friday repeatedly mentioned the “instinct” to “walk away” from democracy during a speech in Normandy recounting the heroism of Army Rangers who seized Pointe du Hoc during the Normandy landings more than 80 years ago.
“We talk about democracy, we talk about American democracy. We talk a lot about the ideals of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. What we don’t talk about is how hard it is, how many ways we are asked to walk away, how many instincts there are to walk away,” Biden said. “The most natural instinct is to walk away.”
Biden, 81, who is seeking reelection this fall, has faced pressure from some in politics to step aside and allow another Democrat to run for the nomination.
He also criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin in a speech on Friday.
Biden commemorates Normandy landings, urges allies to defeat Ukrainian ‘tyrant’ Putin
Biden stood next to the Pointe du Hoc memorial in Normandy, France, on Friday, June 7, and delivered a speech about the legacy of Pointe du Hoc and democracy around the world. (AP/Evan Vucci)
“They changed the course of the war,” Biden said of the Army Rangers who scaled the cliffs of Pointe du Hoc. “They stood up to Hitler’s aggression. Does anyone doubt that they want America to stand up today against Putin’s aggression here in Europe?”
“They stormed the coast with their allies. Who would have thought these Rangers would want America to act alone today?” he continued.
Biden claims he’s known Putin for “more than 40 years,” dating back to when he worked as a KGB agent.
Biden arrived on June 7 to speak with Scott Desjardins, director of the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial, at Pont-du-Hoc, the site where U.S. Rangers scaled cliffs more than 100 feet high and destroyed heavily fortified German positions on D-Day. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
“They fought to defeat a hateful ideology in the ’30s and ’40s. Who would doubt that they would move heaven and earth to defeat a hateful ideology today,” Biden said. “These Rangers put the mission and country before themselves. Who would believe that they would ask of every American today anything less?”
Biden speaks while standing next to the Pointe du Hoc memorial in Normandy, France. (AP/Evan Vucci)
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“They’re not asking us to scale these cliffs, they’re asking us to stay true to American ideals — to defend the freedoms of our time, to defend our democracy, to stand up against aggression at home and abroad, to do our jobs as part of something bigger than ourselves,” Biden concluded.
