President Joe Biden is expected to leave Washington, D.C., on Tuesday night for Normandy, France, to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day.
The World War II operation D-Day, also referred to as the Invasion of Normandy, took place on June 6, 1944. It was led by the United States, but included other allied forces such as Great Britain, Australia, and Canada. The large-scale land, air, and sea operation marked a major turning point in the war.
Biden is expected to attend events in France this week to honor the battle, and will deliver a speech on democracy and freedom. He will appear alongside other world leaders, including the United Kingdom's King Charles III. He will also meet U.S. World War II veterans.
“President Biden has made revitalizing our relationships a key priority, recognizing of course that we are stronger when we act together and that today’s challenges require global solutions and global responses,” White House national security communications adviser John Kirby said, per The Hill. “The message is simple: that the service and the sacrifice of American troops in wars overseas, World War I… and of course World War II, should never be forgotten.
"Those are the messages that the president is trying to send with these visits. That in these two wars, of course these brave soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines, they didn’t sacrifice their futures for nothing and we need to take every opportunity that we can to acknowledge that.”
Biden will also meet with French President Emmanuel Macron on June 8, in Paris for an official state visit. The two leaders are expected to use the visit to strengthen American-French relations ahead of the Olympic Games in Paris, which will begin next month. They are also expected to deepen the countries' transatlantic relationship.
“This visit will underscore continued U.S.-French leadership on a range of consequential issues,” Kirby said. “When [Biden] talks about American leadership, it’s not an arrogant leadership. It’s a humble leadership … He recognizes that for as powerful as we are and as much good as we can do, we need help. Our allies and partners bring things to the endeavor that we can’t always bring."
The president is also expected to travel to Italy later this month for the Group of Seven summit.
