On June 9, 2024, President Biden visited the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery in Bellot, northern France, to pay tribute to American soldiers who died in World War I.
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BERAUT, France — President Joe Biden paid tribute to fallen U.S. Marines on Sunday at a U.S. cemetery outside Paris, a resting place that figured prominently in his case against former President Donald Trump.
Aisne-Marne American Cemetery is where more than 2,200 Americans who died in World War I are buried. “Every Marine I know knows about the Battle of Belleau Woods,” Biden told reporters after a brief wreath-laying ceremony.
“More Marines were killed here than in any single battle until the middle of World War II. I came to Normandy not to pay a brief tribute…” Biden said.
Trump was scheduled to visit the cemetery in November 2018, the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I. The White House blamed the weather, saying it was raining too much for the helicopters to fly and arguing that the convoy would cause too much disruption to traffic and schedules.
Two years later, a different, more devastating story appeared in The Atlantic , one that Biden frequently highlighted on the campaign trail to demonstrate his predecessor’s unfitness to serve as commander-in-chief.
What The Atlantic Says Happened to Trump
atlantic organization Trump canceled the trip because he didn’t want his hair to get wet from the rain, telling senior staff “Why would I go to that cemetery? It’s full of losers.”
The magazine said Trump singled out the Marines who died at the Battle of Belleau Wood as “killed ‘suckers.'”
When the article was published, the Trump campaign strongly disputed its claims. Last year, Trump’s then-chief of staff John Kelly confirmed much of it in a public statement to CNN — a statement the Trump campaign described as a “debunked story.” ”.
Kelly told NPR last week that Trump refused to go to the cemetery, so Kelly went with Gen. Joe Dunford, then chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The cemetery’s website includes a photo of Kelly’s visit: The sky was overcast, but there were no umbrellas in sight.
John Kelly visits the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery on November 10, 2018.
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How Biden is using this story in his campaign
At a recent campaign event in Scranton, Pa., Biden brought up Trump’s snub of Aisne-Marne Cemetery.
“I have to say that many of Donald Trump’s comments and actions I find deeply offensive. But the one that offends me the most is his refusal as president to visit an American cemetery outside of Paris,” Biden said.
“He said those soldiers who gave their lives were – these were his words – ‘fools’ and ‘losers,'” Biden said.
Amidst the applause, Biden shouted: “Who does he think he is? They are all heroes.
Biden has brought up the issue frequently, as he did at a fundraiser in New York earlier this week.
“Whether I run or not, this man does not deserve to be president,” Biden said.
On June 9, President Biden held a wreath-laying ceremony at the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery in Bello, France to pay tribute to American soldiers who died in World War I.
Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images/AFP
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What Biden said and didn’t say about the politics of this stop
In Aisne-et-Marne, Biden did not mention Trump by name or sharply answer questions about what message he was trying to send to voters by visiting the cemetery.
Biden has focused his campaign on protecting democracy and freedom – two themes that came up repeatedly during his official visit to France to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day, when U.S. and allied forces fought a deadly battle that The war ended in a battle that advanced France into World War II.
He told reporters on Sunday that he hoped Americans would learn from his visit that “the best way to avoid these types of battles in the future is to stay strong with our allies.”
“Don’t break,” he said. “Don’t break.”
