Biden to tout American global leadership during trip to France

President Joe Biden arrived in France early Wednesday morning where he looks to highlight America’s world stage leadership -- past and present -- as conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza remain top focuses for him and allies, the White House said.( )

Biden will begin his "action-packed" trip commemorating the 80th anniversary of D-Day on Thursday, the day Allied forces stormed the beaches of Normandy, France, in World War II, according to the White House.

While there, he will also meet with American veterans who "exhibited remarkable bravery, skill and intrepidity" and deliver remarks touting "the continued impact of their contributions" during the war, White House national security communications adviser John Kirby told reporters Tuesday.( )

And, in contrast to rival Donald Trump, Biden plans to visit the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery, where thousands of American troops, many of whom fought in World War I, are buried. (Trump did not attend a ceremony there while he was in France in 2018.)

The message is simple: that the service and the sacrifice of American troops in wars overseas should never be forgotten," Kirby said of Biden visiting the cemetery. "And our commitment to honor that sacrifice should never waver, and our obligations to those they leave behind, even though it may be generations ago, can never be lessened."( )

He said Americans have a "somber and sober" obligation to acknowledge fallen soldiers because "they didn’t sacrifice their futures for nothing."

On Friday, Biden will deliver remarks on defending freedom and democracy at Pointe du Hoc, a 100-foot cliff Army Rangers scaled under gunfire to seize German artillery that could have been fired upon American forces landing on Omaha Beach down below.

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