'You're the pride of our nation,' Donald Trump tells veterans on 75th D-Day anniversary in Normandy

COLLEVILLE-SUR-MER, France – President Donald Trump extolled U.S. veterans gathered in Normandy on the 75th anniversary of D-Day as the “pride of our nation” in a reverential address Thursday that avoided the world’s current security challenges.

The president, who leaned over to embrace one of the World War II veterans who shared the stage at the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial, heaped praise on the troops who stormed Omaha and other beaches on the French coast, battling through heavy German fire to claim a beachhead and turn the course of World War II.

“We are gathered here on Freedom’s Altar,” Trump said within view of both Omaha beach and the cemetery where 9,388 American military dead are buried. “From across the Earth, Americans are drawn to this place as though it was part of our very soul.”

Trump, who has clashed with allies over commitments to NATO and mutual defense obligations, spent little time talking about modern security challenges such as Iran, Russia and North Korea. While he praised U.S. allies, describing their bond as “unbreakable,” he focused heavily on the troops who came ashore June 6, 1944. 

“You’re the pride of our nation,” he told the veterans. 

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Social media lit up with reports that the president had kept veterans waiting on stage while he taped an interview with Fox News. An Associated Press reporter traveling with the president wrote on Twitter that Trump had wrapped up the interview and appeared to be waiting for French President Emmanuel Macron to arrive before starting.  

Trump shared the stage with more than 60 veterans and foreign leaders, some of whom laughed and joked with him when he appeared.

“Hey, you’re our president, too. Come on up this way,” one of the veterans called as Trump took the stage. The same man told Trump there were a lot of people in Pennsylvania who wanted to vote for him in 2020, drawing laughter from the stage. 

After describing the heroism of Russell Pickett, a member of the fabled 29th Infantry Division that was among the first wave of soldiers to land on Normandy, the president walked over and gave him a long hug.

“Private Pickett, you honor us all with your presence,” Trump said. 

Like his predecessors, Trump paid homage to the 160,000 American and Allied troops who landed here, opening a critical second front against Nazi Germany and ultimately pursuing Adolf Hitler’s forces across the Rhine River in early 1945. But unlike past U.S. presidents, Trump faced challenges in discussing the institutions that rose out of the fighting, such as the western military alliance known as NATO.

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Trump predecessors have focused heavily on those institutions during their D-Day remarks, and have also often used the high-profile address to set a broader foreign policy agenda. Most notably, President Ronald Reagan used his speech here in 1984 to justify U.S. military presence in Europe as a way to counter the Soviet Union.   

Trump, on the other hand, has often accused NATO allies of “ripping off” the United States. Still, Trump touched on the role the allies played in World War II and both he and Macron appeared to put past tensions aside to emphasize the historic partnership among the United States, France, and other western European nations.

“To all of our friends and partners – our cherished alliance was forged in the heat of battle, tested in the trials of war, and proven in the blessings of peace,” Trump said. “Our bond is unbreakable.”

Trump may be one of the last presidents to address living U.S. veterans of D-Day at the site of their heroism. The Department of Veterans Affairs estimates that just under 500,000 U.S. World War II veterans were still living in late 2018. By 2024, when the 80th anniversary of D-Day will take place, the agency projects just more than 87,000 World War II veterans will still be alive.

After the speech, Trump and Macron watched flyovers of military aircraft on Omaha Beach before engaging in a long conversation in the cemetery. The two leaders are scheduled to have a more formal meeting and share lunch later Thursday.  

“What resonates still, 75 years later, is their incredible courage and generosity,” Macron told the audience. “France has not forgotten.” 

He then switched to English as he addressed the U.S. veterans directly. 

“We know that we owe to you, veterans, our freedom,” he said. “On behalf of my nation, I just want to say thank you.”

Related:

Most memorable images from D-Day

Before-and-after photos reveal dramatic changes since D-Day

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They were 19 when they died on D-Day. 75 years later, twins are finally reunited at Normandy cemetery

Trump reads FDR’s D-Day prayer as Queen Elizabeth II, world leaders remember World War II Normandy landing

They fought at D-Day, now they’re fighting rust: Veterans struggle to save World War II ships

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US President Donald Trump and US First Lady Melania Trump, both right, greet Britain’s Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, and his wife Britain’s Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, ahead of a dinner at Winfield House, the residence of the US Ambassador, where US President Trump is staying whilst in London, on June 4, 2019, on the second day of the US President’s three-day State Visit to the UK. Mandel Ngan, AFP/Getty ImagesThe dining room is set for a dinner for President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump, Prince Charles, and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, at the U.S. ambassador’s residence, Tuesday, June 4, 2019, in central London. Alex Brandon, AP

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