US President Joe Biden ends his visit to France by paying tribute to the memory of American soldiers buried in an American military cemetery near Paris, which Donald Trump failed to visit when he was president, the Associated Press reported, citing BTA.
The agency notes Biden hopes this last stop on his state visit to France will highlight the stakes of the November election.
Before leaving for the United States, Biden visited the En-Marne American Cemetery, about an hour from Paris, and laid a wreath in the cemetery's chapel in front of a green area with white crosses on the graves of more than 2,200 American soldiers who fought in the First World War.
Biden's visit to France was mainly dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings and the alliance between the United States and France. In an election year when Trump has questioned basic understandings of America's global role, Biden has demonstrated the differences between himself and his Republican predecessor, who will fight for office in November, notes AP.
Reuters recalls that in 2018, the White House of then-President Trump said that the French head of state could not visit the cemetery because of bad weather. His chief of staff at the time, John Kelly, a retired general, went in his stead despite a light drizzle.
When asked last week if Biden would visit the American cemetery, White House spokeswoman Karin Jean-Pierre said: "He's not just the president, is he? He is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces".
Each ode to the transatlantic partnership was a reminder that Trump could destroy that relationship, AP notes. Any reference to democracy was a counterpoint to his opponent's efforts to overturn the presidential election. The numerous pleas to help Ukraine defend itself from Russia contrasted with Trump's skepticism about providing American aid.
Biden's praise for the struggle between democracy and authoritarianism was met with rapture in Europe, where the prospect of a return to Trump's tumultuous rule is causing serious concern. However, it is not yet clear how the message will resonate with American voters, as the Biden campaign struggles to connect the dire warnings the Democratic president so often issues about his rival to people's everyday problems.