Biden visits inspirational site of American heroism, speaks for democracy

Normandy, France
CNN
—

President Joe Biden will speak on Friday about the need for democracy against the backdrop of a critical turning point for Allied forces in World War II, setting up a dramatic moment for renewed war on Europe’s doorstep and setting up a showdown with political opponents at home.

Biden is scheduled on Friday to visit Pointe du Hoc in Normandy, France, the site that separates Omaha Beach from Utah Beach where U.S. Army Rangers scaled the cliffs to hold off German forces, and he is expected to speak about the power of democracy, referencing the site’s symbolism.

In a week filled with inspiring images of America’s Greatest Generation, this speech will stand out as a modern-day call to action to counter the isolationist tendencies seeping into American politics and rising authoritarianism around the world.

White House aides planning the speech had not forgotten that Republican President Ronald Reagan had delivered the speech in the same place 40 years earlier, warning against isolationism in the face of tyranny.

On the 80th anniversary of the Allied landings, the president will use his speech to draw a “consistency” from World War II to today, national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters, but the speech’s hidden meaning could also be aimed at former President Donald Trump.

“The president will talk about the crisis of the moment, the existential battle between tyranny and freedom. He will talk about the men who scaled that cliff and how they put country before themselves. And he will talk about the dangers of isolationism, and if we support dictators and fail to stand up to them, they will continue on and ultimately America and the world will pay a greater price,” Sullivan told reporters aboard Air Force One.

Biden has repeatedly criticized Trump for his support of authoritarian leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, as a threat to democracy.

“The President will tell a coherent story that takes us from World War II through the Cold War to the founding of NATO, the largest military alliance in the history of the world, to today, when we face war again in Europe and NATO has come together to defend the freedom and sovereignty of Europe,” Sullivan added.

A senior administration official told CNN that Biden will “focus on World War II veterans and what we owe to them, how we must live up to their example, and the strength of our democracy.”

This comes as Biden faces two international crises: in Ukraine, where the US hopes to turn the tide of a Russian offensive, and in the Middle East, where the Biden administration is calling on Hamas to accept a ceasefire and hostage proposal agreement.

The delay of several months in providing more U.S. aid to Ukraine, partly due to resistance from Republicans aligned with Trump, has led to setbacks on the battlefield and emboldened Russia, while isolationist tensions have raised concerns in Europe and elsewhere about what a return to the White House for Trump might mean.

President Biden announced a new aid package for Ukraine on Friday during a bilateral meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, apologizing for delays and touting new funding for the war-torn region.

“You know, you haven’t caved in, you haven’t caved in at all, you just continue to fight on in an incredible way, and we’re not going to abandon you,” Biden told the Ukrainian president. “I apologize for the weeks that went by without knowing what was going to pass in terms of funding, because we struggled to pass bills that we had to pass, bills that were funded by very conservative lawmakers who were blocking them, and we got it done.”

Still, he used the opportunity to tout today’s funding announcement and the additional funds that have been sent to Ukraine since he signed the bill in April.

“Since then, including today, I have announced six significant funding packages. Today I also signed an additional $225 million package to rebuild our power grid,” he said.

In his speech at Pointe du Hoc, Biden recalled one of the most famous presidential addresses of all time, President Reagan’s speech marking the 40th anniversary of the Normandy landings.

President Reagan used the bravery of the “Boys from Pointe du Hoc” as an example to condemn authoritarianism. “The comparison is impossible to make,” said a senior administration official.

The speech, like Biden’s, comes at a time of heightened conflict with Russia.

Another elderly president, Reagan, running for reelection, was surrounded by soldiers who had fought there and made a powerful appeal for the power of democracy.

“You knew there were things you were willing to die for. Your country was worth dying for, and your democracy was worth dying for, because democracy is the most honorable form of government that man has ever devised. You loved freedom. You were willing to fight tyranny, and you knew that your own people were on your side,” Reagan said.

Like Biden, he warned about America’s withdrawal from the world.

“We have learned that isolationism has never been, and never will be, an acceptable response to dictatorship,” President Reagan said at the time.

Biden delivered a central speech on democracy during his road show.

This will be a major theme of his 2022 State of the Union address, with President Trump defining the battle between democracy and tyranny as the key issue of this moment in history.

During a tribute to the late Republican Sen. John McCain in Tempe, Arizona in September 2023, President Trump said defending, protecting and preserving American democracy was “the central objective of my presidency.”

He stressed unified support for democracy ahead of the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2023 in Warsaw, Poland.

And on the eve of the three-year anniversary of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, Biden characterized the values ​​Americans place on democracy as “the most urgent issue of our time.”

CNN’s Kayla Touche contributed to this report.