Biden Says Americans Won’t ‘Surrender To Bullies’ In D-Day Speech As Election Fight With Trump Looms

President Joe Biden gave a fiery speech about D-Day that called on Americans to remember the lessons of World War II, and a call to protect democracy that echoed his repeated warnings about former President Donald Trump.

President Biden and others spoke at an event commemorating the 80th anniversary of D-Day in Normandy, France that was attended by around 200 surviving veterans of that invasion — men who turned the tide of World War II against Adolf Hitler’s Axis powers.

The president’s speech was replete with historical gravity and messages of unity, but also carried the unmistakable subtext of his election battle with Trump in passages about saving democracy, standing up to “bullies” and the dictators he has accused Trump of befriending, and the NATO alliance that has become an issue of contention:

The men who fought here became heroes not because they’re the strongest or toughest or fiercest, although they were, but because they were given an audacious mission — knowing, every one of them knew the probability of dying was real.

But they did it anyway. They knew beyond any doubt, there are things that are worth fighting and dying for. Freedom is worth it. Democracy is worth it. America is worth it. The world is worth it. Then, now and always.

The war in Europe didn’t end for another 11 months. But here the tide turned in our favor. Here we proved the forces of liberty are stronger than the forces of conquest.

Here we proved that the ideals of our democracy are stronger than any army or combination of armies in the entire world.

We proved something else here as well. The unbreakable unity of the allies. Here with us are men who served alongside the Americans that day, warring different flags on their arms, but fighting with the same courage for the same purpose.

What the allies did together eight years ago far surpassed anything we could have done on our own. It was a powerful illustration of how alliances, real alliances, make us stronger. A lesson that I pray we Americans never forget.

Together we won the war. We rebuilt Europe, including our former enemies. It was an investment in what became shared and a prosperous future. We established NATO, the greatest military alliance in the history of the world. And over time, you got it is. Another time we brought more nations into NATO, the NATO alliance, including the newest members, Finland and Sweden.

Today, NATO stands at 32 countries strong, and NATO is more united than ever and even more prepared to keep the peace, deter aggression, defend freedom all around the world. America has invested in our alliances and forged new ones, not simply out of altruism, but out of our own self-interest as well.

America’s unique ability to bring countries together is an undeniable source of our strength and our power. Isolationism was not the answer eighty years ago and is not the answer today.

We know the dark forces that these heroes fought against 80 years ago. They never fade. Aggression and greed. The desire to dominate and control. To change borders by force. These are perennial.

The struggle between dictatorship and freedom is unending. Here in Europe, we see one stark example. Ukraine has been invaded by a tyrant. Then on domination. Ukrainians are fighting with extraordinary courage. Suffering great losses but never backing down.

They’ve been affected by the Russian aggression. They’ve suffered tremendous losses. Russia. The numbers are staggering. 350,000 Russian troops dead or wounded. Nearly 1 million people have left Russia because they can no longer see a future in Russia, the United States and NATO and a coalition of more than 50 countries standing strong with Ukraine. We will not walk away. Because if we do, you can be subjugated and we’ll not end there. Ukraine’s neighbors will be threatened. All of Europe will be threatened.

And make no mistake, the autocrats of the world are watching closely to see what happens in Ukraine, to see if we let this illegal aggression go unchecked. We cannot let that happen! To surrender to bullies, to bow down to dictators is simply unthinkable! Were we to do that. It means we be forgetting what happened here on these hallowed beaches.

Make no mistake. We will not bow down. We will not forget.

Watch above via C-SPAN.