BERLO, France — President Joe Biden ended a trip to France by paying his respects at a U.S. military cemetery that Donald Trump famously failed to visit during his presidency, hoping his final stop on Sunday would shed sharp light on the fate of November’s election.
Before returning to the United States, Biden Aisne-Marne American Military Cemetery They laid a wreath in front of a row of white headstones marking the final resting places of more than 2,200 American soldiers who fought in World War I in a chapel at the cemetery, about an hour outside of Paris.
It was a solemn end to five days in which Trump had been an implicit but inevitable presence. Ostensibly, the visit was to mark the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings and celebrate the US-French alliance.
But in an election year in which Trump is calling into question fundamental perceptions of America’s global role, Biden is embracing his Republican predecessor and would-be successor as a potential challenger.
For all the hymns to transatlantic partnerships, there was a reminder that Trump could upend those relationships.
Any references to democracy served as a counterpoint to rival attempts to overturn the presidential election.
Repeated calls to help Ukraine defend itself against Russia contrasted with President Trump’s skepticism about providing U.S. assistance.
Biden’s speech, in which he extolled the fight between democracy and autocracy, drew praise in Europe, where the possibility of a return to the chaotic rule of President Donald Trump has stoked anxiety.
But it remains to be seen how this messaging will resonate with American voters, as the Biden campaign struggles to connect the Democratic president’s frequent stark warnings to his rivals with people’s everyday concerns.
The visit to the cemetery was a moment that highlighted that contrast once again.
“It’s the same story,” Biden said. “America showed up. We showed up to stop the Germans. We showed up to make sure the Germans didn’t win. And just like our allies show up for us, America shows up when we’re needed.”
President Trump canceled a planned visit to the cemetery during a trip to France in 2018, but the White House blamed it on weather conditions at the time.
But later reports said Trump told aides he didn’t want to go because he viewed the soldiers who died as “idiots” and “losers.”
Trump denied the claim, but it was later confirmed by then-Chief of Staff John Kelly.
Trump’s alleged insults have become a staple of Biden’s campaign speeches, including at an April rally in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
“Like every American who has served this country, these soldiers were heroes,” Biden said. “To believe otherwise disqualifies me from holding this office.”
Biden did not respond to a direct question about Trump at the cemetery, but said it was important to visit the sacred site. “I can’t imagine coming to Normandy and not making the short journey here and paying my respects,” Biden added, trailing off in disbelief.
Speaking at a campaign rally in Las Vegas on Sunday after Biden left France, Trump called the president’s performance abroad “terrible” and embarrassing, without singling out any specifics. “This is not representative of the country that was once the greatest,” he told supporters, adding that under Biden, “our country has declined greatly, and I’m going to stop that immediately.”
Maura Sullivan, a former Marine Corps officer who served on the American War Memorials Commission under President Barack Obama, said Biden’s visit was about “leading by example and doing what a president should do.” Sullivan, now a New Hampshire Democratic Party official, said “voters can draw their own conclusions” about the visit.
Biden’s visit was filled with emotional moments, with the president’s eyes growing heavy after meeting with World War II veterans.
A 21-gun salute was fired and an eerie plume of smoke rose above the 9,388 white marble headstones at the Normandy American Cemetery.
“This has been the most incredible journey I’ve ever been on,” Biden said Saturday night in Paris, his final stop before returning to the United States.
In Aisne-Marne, Biden said the visit “was surprising me because it awakened my sense of why having these alliances is so valuable, why it’s so important. That’s how you stop wars, not how you start wars.”
His comments over the past few days have also been loaded with political overtones.
Speaking at a Normandy commemoration on Thursday, Biden said the Normandy landings were a reminder that alliances make the U.S. stronger and a “lesson that the American people must never forget.” He also highlighted the use of immigrants, women and people of color in the war effort, who are often overlooked by history.
And on Friday, he visited Pointe du Hoc, the coastal spot where Army Rangers scaled the cliffs to break through Nazi defenses on Normandy landings and where President Ronald Reagan gave one of his most memorable speeches in 1984 about the struggle between the West and the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
By following in the footsteps of the iconic Republican, Biden has honed his appeal to traditional conservatives who have often resented Trump’s isolationist vision.
Biden called on Americans to defend democracy like the rangers who scaled the cliffs, a message consistent with campaign rhetoric that portrayed his opponent as an existential threat to American values.
While Biden was in France, his campaign announced it had hired former Republican congressman Adam Kinzinger, a former chief of staff, to lead its outreach to Republican voters. Kinzinger has been at odds with Trump’s foreign policy and efforts to overturn the last presidential election.
Speaking at Pointe du Hoc, Biden said Army Rangers “fought to crush hateful ideas in the 1930s and 1940s. Who doubts that they wouldn’t move heaven and earth to crush hateful ideas today?”
Trump argues that the United States needs to focus more on its own problems rather than foreign alliances and conflicts.
Trump has also routinely downplayed the importance of U.S. partnerships, suggesting the U.S. could abandon treaty obligations to defend European allies if they do not pay enough for their own defense.
Douglas Brinkley, a presidential historian who wrote a book about Pointe du Hoc and Reagan’s speeches, said Biden chose the same location because “it was a great responsibility.”
Brinkley said Biden’s speech “did not and cannot match Reagan’s in grandeur,” but he said Biden “said the right things about why democracy matters.”
Veteran Democratic strategist Paul Begala said it could be politically useful for Biden to “stand where Reagan stood.”
He noted that while Biden is struggling among younger voters, he appears to be gaining support among older voters who are reminded of President Reagan’s speeches 40 years ago.
“Trump needs a lot of Reagan Republicans to overcome the challenge of winning over young voters,” he said.
Biden’s trip was also highlighted by the pomp of a state visit in Paris.
French President Emmanuel Macron held a ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe that included a flyover by four fighter jets and hosted a dinner at the Elysee Palace.
“United we stand, divided we fall,” Macron said as he toasted Biden. “We are allies and we will remain allies.”
Overall, Biden’s visit was slower paced than his other international trips: The 81-year-old president had no public events or the customary news conference on his first day after arriving in Paris on an overnight flight.
National security spokesman John Kirby said the move was necessary to prepare “ahead of significant combat” over the next few days.
“There’s a lot planned,” he said.
Still, this contrasted with Macron’s tendency to treat his prestigious guests to a packed schedule combining official talks, business meetings, cultural events and private dinners at fine restaurants.
When the 46-year-old French president hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping last month, the two-day itinerary was packed with activities, including a trip to the Pyrenees Mountains near the Spanish border, where Macron spent his childhood.
