Biden visits cemetery Trump called ‘filled with losers’: NPR

BELLAU, France — President Biden on Sunday paid tribute to fallen U.S. Marines at an American cemetery outside Paris, a resting place that figures prominently in his lawsuit against former President Donald Trump.

More than 2,200 Americans who fought and died in World War I are buried at the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery. “Every Marine I know knows about the Battle of Bellau Woods,” Biden told reporters after a short wreath-laying ceremony.

“There were more Marine losses here than in any battle until the middle of World War II. The idea of ​​me coming to Normandy and not making the short trip here to pay my respects. ..”, Biden said.

Trump was scheduled to visit the cemetery in November. 2018, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War. But he abandoned these plans. The White House blamed the weather, saying it was too rainy for helicopters to fly, and arguing that a motorcade would have disrupted traffic and schedules too much.

A different and far more damning story appeared two years later in The Atlantic, one that Biden often pushes on the campaign trail to show that his predecessor is unfit to be commander in chief.

What The Atlantic Said Happened to Trump

Atlantic said Trump canceled the trip because he didn’t want to get his hair wet in the rain, telling senior staff, “Why should I go to that cemetery?” It’s full of losers.

The magazine said Trump separately called Marines who lost their lives in the Battle of Belleau Wood “‘suckers'” for being killed.

At the time the article was published, the Trump campaign strongly disputed his claims. Last year, John Kelly, then Trump’s chief of staff, confirmed much of it in an official statement to CNN — a statement the Trump campaign called “debunked stories.”

Kelly told NPR last week that Trump refused to go to the cemetery, so Kelly went there with Gen. Joe Dunford, then chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. A photo of Kelly’s visit can be found on the cemetery’s website: The weather was overcast, but no umbrellas were visible.

How Biden is using this story in his campaign

During a recent campaign stop in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Biden addressed Trump’s snub over the Aisne-Marne cemetery.

“I have to say that there are many things that Donald Trump has said and done that I find extremely offensive. But the one that offends me the most is when he refused, as president, to visit an American cemetery outside of Paris when he was,” Biden said.

“He said these soldiers who gave their lives were, I quote – that was his quote – ‘suckers’ and ‘losers,’” Biden said.

To applause, Biden shouted, “Who does he think he is?” “They were heroes.”

Biden talks about it regularly, as he did at a fundraiser in New York earlier this week.

“This guy doesn’t deserve to be president whether I run or not,” Biden said.

What Biden said – and didn’t say – about the politics of this shutdown

In Aisne-Marne, Biden did not name-check Trump, and he clearly did not answer a question about the message he was trying to send to voters by visiting the cemetery.

Biden focused his campaign on protecting democracy and freedom – two themes that came up often during his official visit to France to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day, when U.S. and allied troops marched into France in a battle that led to the end. of the Second World War.

He told reporters Sunday that he hoped Americans would take away from his trip “the knowledge that the best way to avoid these kinds of battles in the future is to stand strong with our allies.”

“Don’t break,” he said. “Don’t break.”