President Joe Biden on Friday urged voters to “stay true to what America stands for”, urging them to draw on the bravery of US forces to protect and uphold democracy in an address commemorating the 80th anniversary of D-Day.
Standing on the cliff at Pointe du Hoc, overlooking the Omaha and Utah beaches of Normandy where thousands of US troops landed on June 6, 1944, Biden invoked their spirit to highlight fears around democracy and the policies of his opponent in the US election, former president Donald Trump.
“They ask us, what will we do? They’re not asking us to scale these cliffs but they are asking us to stay true to what America stands for,” Biden said, referring to the group of US Rangers who stormed the key strongpoint on the Normandy coast as part of the operation that would begin to turn the tide of the second world war.