PARIS — During his trip to France, President Joe Biden did not utter Donald Trump’s name once.
Standing at the graves of American soldiers killed in two world wars, Biden eschewed overt references to his Republican rival or the presidential campaign at home.
Still, Trump played some role in virtually all of Biden’s comments during his five-day visit. At every opportunity, Biden implicitly denounced Trump’s quasi-isolationist foreign policy vision as the antithesis of what is needed to fend off autocratic leaders who threaten democratic states.
The trip culminated in Biden’s visit Sunday to a military cemetery rich in political symbolism. The Aisne-Marne American Cemetery, about an hour’s drive from Paris, is the burial place for 2,289 Americans who died in World War I.
Trump avoided the cemetery when he was in France for the war’s centenary six years ago. His aides cited weather conditions as the reason he didn’t show up.
But John Kelly, the longest-serving White House chief of staff, has since issued a statement confirming a 2020 report in The Atlantic that Trump called the war dead “losers” and would not visit the cemetery.
(Trump has denied making this comment. Chris LaCivita, Trump’s 2024 co-campaign manager, called the report “fake and thoroughly debunked,” while adding, “The fact remains that severe weather conditions on that day prevented safe transportation of the president and guests to the cemetery, and the next day he participated in a ceremony at the Suresnes American Cemetery.”)
According to its website, the American Battle Monuments Commission manages twelve different cemeteries in France. Why exactly did Biden choose the one Trump skipped?
He told reporters this was because of the extraordinary number of Marines who died there in World War I. Yet there is also a political windfall that Biden’s campaign wanted to reap: his performance cannot help but draw attention to Trump’s absence in 2018. .
“The idea of me coming to Normandy and not making the short trip here to pay tribute …” Biden’s voice trailed off before he finished the thought.
A common thread throughout the trip was Biden’s celebration of America’s network of alliances. They helped the U.S. achieve victory in previous wars and are needed today to prevent Russian President Vladimir Putin from defeating Ukraine and threatening the rest of Europe, he said.
At the cemetery, Biden said that “the best way to avoid these types of battles in the future is to stay strong with our allies. Don’t break it. Don’t break it.”
Biden is betting that Americans will choose his foreign position over a more nationalist vision that Trump and many of his supporters have embraced.
As commander in chief, Trump blamed old allies for not allocating enough money for defense and leaving it to the US to provide a security umbrella.
During his time in office, he considered withdrawing from the NATO alliance, former aides said. And he doubled down on his position in February when he said he could let Russia “do whatever they want” to NATO allies who are not spending enough on their own defense.
The election could prove to be a referendum on which of the two approaches voters prefer. In his remarks to the press on Sunday, Biden appeared to challenge the idea that Americans have become “semi-isolationist.”
“That’s not who we are,” he said. “It’s not who America is.”
The trip was largely smooth for the president. One of the few problems was not his fault, a US official said. There was about a 45-minute delay before the start of Thursday’s ceremony in Normandy to mark the 80th anniversary of the D-Day invasion.
Veterans in their 90s and 100s sat shivering in their wheelchairs in the afternoon chill as they waited for the event to begin. A US official told NBC News that the proceedings were postponed because French President Emmanuel Macron arrived late.
At a time when millions of voters believe the 81-year-old Biden is too old for the job, the trip was also fortuitous for him, as many photos were taken showing him standing next to World War II veterans old enough to to be his father.
As he toasted Biden at the Elysee Palace on Saturday, Macron pointed to 100-year-old veteran Harold Terens, who was sitting at the table with his fiancée, 96-year-old Jeanne Swerlin.
“They are with us today and are just taking their wedding vows,” Macron said through a translator. “So let’s congratulate the young bride and groom.”
Biden will leave for Europe again on Wednesday for the Group of Seven (G7) summit in southern Italy.
But maybe there’s something else on his mind. His son Hunter is charged with a weapons offense and his trial in Wilmington, Del., resumes Monday. The prosecutor has dropped his case and the president may soon learn whether his only surviving son is found innocent or guilty.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
