Trump’s White House said in 2018 that the then-president, who was also on a trip to France, could not visit the cemetery because of bad weather. His chief of staff at the time, John Kelly, a retired general, attended instead, in light rain.
Biden is finishing a five-day trip that included a commemoration of the 80th anniversary of D-Day with World War Two veterans in Normandy and a state visit in Paris.
He has made subtle references to Trump without naming him throughout the trip, including in a speech at the Normandy coast site where U.S. Army Rangers scaled a 100-foot cliff during the D-Day landings. Biden has pushed to uphold strong U.S. alliances while Trump has been critical of NATO and threatened not to defend its members if they don’t pay more for their defense.
Asked last week about Biden’s trip to the American cemetery, White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said: “He’s not just the president. Right? He’s the commander-in-chief.”
