President Trump and first lady Melania Trump continued their commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the D-Day invasion of Nazi-occupied northern France by Allied forces. The president joined French Presidnet Emmanuel Macron in honoring the fallen on the very site of the invasion — the beaches of Normandy.
The risky maneuver launched on June 6, 1944 saw more than 150,000 American, British and other Allied troops cross the English Channel to halt the advance of Adolph Hitler’s war machine in northern France. It would cost the Allies some 10,000 men, but it would become the turning point of World War II.
Mr. Trump joined French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte at a ceremony marking the somber occasion. The leaders honored numerous living veterans of the D-Day invasion, bestowing some with the French Legion of Honor medal.
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In his remarks, the president told those assembled that those who battled on the beaches saved “saved freedom.”
“Those who fought here won a future, they won the survival of our civilization and they showed us the way to love, cherish and defend our way of life for many centuries to come,” Mr. Trump said at the close of his speech.
Trump heads to Ireland after lunch
After lunch with Macron, Mr. Trump says he’s heading back to Ireland, where he will spend another night before heading back to the U.S. on Friday. The president’s golf resort is in Ireland.
Meanwhile, discussions about illegal immigration and tariffs continue in Washington, as Mexico looks to avoid the 5 percent tariffs Mr. Trump has threatened to impose come Monday.
Iran can’t possess nuclear weapons, Trump insists
Mr. Trump, seated alongside Macron, called Iran a “true state of terror” before he entered office, and even still. Mr. Trump insisted the Iranian regime cannot possess nuclear weapons.
The Trump administration has ratcheted up pressure on Iran in recent months, but has been relatively alone among allies in doing so.
“Don’t want to se nuclear weapons, I don’t want to see them having nuclear weapons, and they won’t have nuclear weapons,” the president said. “With that being said, lets see what happens with Iran. When I became president … Iran was true state of terror they still are but they were … champions of terror and that’s a bad thing. Sanctions have been extraordinary how powerful they’ve been. If they want to talk that’s fine, but the one thing they can’t have nuclear weapons and I think the president of France would agree with that.”
Trump says he’ll make a decision on China tariffs in next two weeks
Mr. Trump, seated alongside Macron, said he’ll make a decision on whether to impose additional tariffs on $325 billion in Chinese goods in the next two weeks.
“I will make that decision over the next two weeks after the G20 one way or the other after the G20,” the president told reporters.
The president’s ongoing trade war with China has unsettled markets, and trade talks between the two countries have thus far been unsuccessful.
Trump, Macron reinforce U.S-France bond at meeting
Following their day of commemoration, Mr. Trump and President Macron met in France where the two leaders reinforced their nation’s “unbreakable” bond, particularly in light of the 75th anniversary of the D-Day invasion.
Macron personally thanked Mr. Trump for joining in the tribute in celebrating their nation’s veterans and for what the United States did for France during the Nazi occupation.
“Your presence here and their [veterans] presence is for me the best symbolism of the unbreakable bond,” Marcon said.
“Our soldiers worked very closely together…each time freedom and democracy is at stake we work together,” he added.
Mr. Trump agreed: “We really have a great partnership.”
Trump tells Fox D-Day was “never a more important battle”
“There was never a more important event than the event 75 years ago today, think of that,” Mr. Trump told Fox News’ Laura Ingraham just before the D-Day ceremony.
“These were incredible, brave people who were just being blown up, and you have the graves all over. I mean, these were people that knew they were going to die. It was- it was horrendous.” Mr. Trump went on to say that the invasion “led to something very special.”
“This was a very, very horrific day, but it was also a very special day, and it’s an honor to be here.”
Trumps, Macrons lay flowers at American cemetery
The president and first lady, joined by the Macrons, laid a simple bouquet of white-colored roses at the cemetery for American soldiers lost in the D-Day invasion. The graves, marked with white stone crosses and Stars of David, overlooks a stunning vista and the very beaches the soldiers fought on.
The couples chatted for several minutes before saying their goodbyes. The Trumps now head to Caen, France where the president will hold a bilateral meeting and working lunch with Macron.
21 gun salute honors the fallen
The Trumps and Macrons walked down a long red carpet towards the beach were the group paused for a 21 gun salute as cannons fired toward the water.
The couples continued to a stunning overlook as a bugle call played “Taps” off in the distance. Shortly thereafter the group was briefed on logistics of the Normandy invasion by Scott Desjardins, Superintendent of the Normandy American Cemetery.
Before parting to view the American cemetery, a parade of aircrafts, both modern and WWII-era, soared overhead.
Program comes to close as Trumps, Macrons greet vets
Presidents Trump and Macron and the respective first ladies shook hands with veterans upon the closing of the day’s ceremony. The couples are expected to walk together to the Omaha Beach overlook to continue the commemroation.
Trump: D-Day vets “saved freedom”
“The exceptional might came from a truly exceptional spirit. The abundance of courage came from a n abundance of faith. The great deeds of an army came from the great depths of their love…the men behind me will tell you that they are just the lucky ones as one of them recently put it, ‘all the heroes are buried here,'” the president said.
He added, citing the numerous accomplishments of one of the greatest generations of American fighters: “We know what these men did, we knew how brave they were. They came here and saved freedom and then they went home and showed us all what freedom is all about. The American sons and daughters who saw us to victory were no less extraordinary in peace.”
“Those who fought here won a future, they won the survival of our civilization and they showed us the way to love, cherish and defend our way of life for many centuries to come,” Mr. Trump said at the close of his speech.
Trump thanks French for honoring fallen Americans
“9,388 Americans rest beneath the white crosses and Stars of David each adopted by a French family that thinks of him as their own,” Mr. Trump reflected on the Normandy American Cemetery that exists on the site of the D-Day invasion.
“Today America embraces the French people and thanks you for honoring our beloved dead,” he said.
Trump reflects on veteran’s battle
“They came from the farms of a vast heartland, the streets of glowing cities and the forges of mighty industrial towns. Before the war many have never ventured beyond their own community now they have come to offer their lives half a world from home,” Mr. Trump remarked of the young men whose mission was to storm the beach code-named “Omaha.”
The president recalled a story of a soldier who suffered serious wounds during the battle on D-Day, and personally thanked the veteran for his service during his speech.
“Ray, the free world salutes you,” he remarked.
Veterans receive standing ovation
“You are the pride of our nation you are the glory of our republic and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts,” Mr. Trump remarked of the over 60 veterans attending the ceremony that were on the beaches on D-Day. The crowd stood and cheered in honor of those assembled.
Trump takes stage to deliver remarks
Mr. Trump shook hands with the numerous veterans before taking the podium to deliver remarks commemorating the day’s events.
“We are gathered here on freedom’s alter. on these shores on these bluffs on this day 75 years ago, 10,000 men shed their blood and thousands sacrificed their lives for their brothers, for their countries and for the survival of liberty,” Mr. Trump said.
Trump, Macron award soldiers military honors
Following Macron’s remarks, the presidents awarded the Legion of Honour, the highest French order of merit for military and civil merits, to several veterans of the battle at Normandy.
Macron thanks vets on behalf of France
The French president gave his opening remarks to the gathered veterans and dignitaries in his native language, but he broke briefly into English and turned 180 degrees from the podium to address the 35 D-Day veterans behind him.
“We know what we owe to your veterans; our freedom. On behalf of my nation, I just want to say, thank you,” Macron said in English.
Trump greets veterans on stage
There were 35 D-Day veterans on the stage, seated behind President Trump and the other dignitaries, according to the first speaker, William M. Matz, Secretary of the American Battle Monuments Commission which runs the American cemetery in Normandy.
There were some bursts of laughter when one of the veterans yelled to Mr. Trump, who was on the other side of the stage shaking hands, “You’re our president, too, come on over here!”
Moments later a vet, possibly the same one, shouted to Mr. Trump: “There’s a lot of people back in Pennsylvania who want to vote for you!”
“God bless you, President Trump. We love you,” another one of the veterans said as Mr. Trump shook hands.
Macrons arrive, greet Trumps
French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte arrived by helicopter to the Normandy American Cemetery about 15 minutes after Mr. Trump, and the French couple was greeted by the Trumps after disembarking.
Melania Trump and Brigitte Macron walked first down the red carpet leading to the seating area for dignitaries on the stage at the ceremony, followed by the presidents.
The two leaders have had a somewhat tense relationship in recent years, given their opposing views on European unity and globalism. Nonetheless, they smiled and shook hands and exchanged pleasantries before greeting veterans and other VIP guests on the stage.
CBS News Special Report begins
CBS News’ live coverage of the D-Day 75th anniversary commemoration event in Normandy, France has begun, with “CBS This Morning” co-host Anthony Mason leading the broadcast from the Normandy American Cemetery along with CBS News senior foreign correspondent Mark Phillips and Robert Citino, senior historian at the National WWII Museum in New Orleans.
As our coverage began, veterans and dignitaries from around the world filed in and filled seats set up at the cemetery in sections, separated by large monitors to give everyone in attendance a good view of the events on the stage.
Cameras showed the D-Day veterans sat in the audience on the jumbo monitors set up amongst the crowd, prompting a spontaneous round of standing applause from the gathered masses. There were about 150 U.S. veterans of WWII on the stage set up in the cemetery for Thursday’s commemoration.
Trump arrives in Normandy
President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump touched down in Normandy on Thursday morning aboard Air Force One, after making the trip from Ireland.
Mr. Trump was to deliver a speech, along with French President Emmanuel Macron and other leaders, at a ceremony commemorating the 75th anniversary of the D-Day invasion of Nazi-occupied northern France by Allied forces in World War II.
After landing at the airport in Caen, Normandy, Mr. Trump quickly boarded his Marine One Helicopter for the short flight to the landing zone at the Normandy American Cemetery, where the day’s ceremony was being held.
Trump to laud the fallen and our “cherished alliance”
The White House released excerpts of Mr. Trump’s D-Day commemoration speech in advance on Thursday morning, a rare move for an administration.
“Today, we remember those who fell here, and we honor all who fought here. They won back this ground for civilization,” Mr. Trump was to tell the gathered world leaders at the ceremony at the Normandy American Cemetery, where some 9,000 U.S. casualties were laid to rest.
Mr. Trump was to laud the tens of thousands of Allies forces who faced the German war machine head on as, “the citizens of free and independent nations, united by their duty to their compatriots and to millions yet unborn.”
In a nod to the international bonds that the United States helped forge during that fight, embodied today in the NATO alliance which Mr. Trump has been critical of, he was also to praise “all of our friends and partners – our cherished alliance was forged in the heat of battle, tested in the trials of war, and proven in the blessings of peace. Our bond is unbreakable.”
“The abundance of courage came from an abundance of faith. The great deeds of our Army came from the great depths of their love,” Mr. Trump was to say.
Commemorations in Washington, D.C.
At the World War II memorial in Washington, D.C., commemorations of the 75th anniversary of D-Day stretched on for hours on Wednesday. The event included a public reading of the names of some 9,000 troops who are buried at the Normandy American Cemetery in France.
D-Day paratrooper makes another jump
Seventy-five years after he parachuted into Normandy in the vanguard of the D-Day invasion, Tom Rice, 97, returned for the anniversary. On June 6, 1944, he was among the 18,000 paratroopers dropped behind enemy lines.
Their job was to prevent German reinforcements from reaching the front as the main invasion force stormed the beaches. “Chase ’em out, run ’em across fields, through cemeteries, jumping over tombstones, chase ’em all the way back to the German border as fast as we can,” Rice said.
It was dark then, so he’s not sure exactly where he landed. But in a field not far from that fateful spot, he made a tandem jump — and a perfect landing — on Wednesday this week, to mark the momentous anniversary.
“I represent a whole generation,” he said. Asked how his D-Day comrades would have felt about him jumping, Rice told The Associated Press, “They would love it.”
What is D-Day?
On June 6, 1944, over 150,000 Allied soldiers landed on the beaches of Normandy, France. Their mission: to free Europe from Nazi control.
It was the largest seaborne invasion in history, carried out by American, British, Canadian and Australian troops with soldiers also coming from a total of 12 countries. At stake was the liberation of Western Europe from Hitler’s rule.
Some historians consider it the single most important day in the 20th century. The attack had been planned for more than a year. More than 11,000 aircraft and 5,000 ships landed across Normandy’s five beachheads, code-named Utah, Gold, Juno, Sword, and Omaha.
The amphibious landings were supported by an airborne drop of 13,000 paratroopers, with 4,000 additional men gliding in behind enemy lines later that night. Disorganization and confusion characterized the initial landing, but up until that point the Allies managed to keep it a secret, taking the Germans by surprise.
The Allies would not be deterred in the face of an estimated 10,000 casualties, with 4,414 confirmed dead. Between 4,000 and 9,000 German troops were killed. The invasion of Normandy brought a decisive Allied victory over the Axis powers in France, and set the stage for victory over all of Europe one year later.
Reporting by Brian Pascus
