Joe Biden Marks D-Day Anniversary At Normandy With A Warning Of The Current Risks To Democracy: “We Cannot Let What Happened Here Be Lost”

President Joe Biden marked the 80th anniversary of D-Day in a speech with a warning of current perils to democracy, including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the risks of a fracturing of the NATO alliance.

Before dozens of surviving veterans, a number of them centenarians who traveled for the Normandy ceremony, Biden said, “We are not far off from the time, the last living voices of those who fought and bled on D-Day will no longer be with us. So we have a special obligation. We cannot let what happened here be lost in the silence of years to come.”

Among those in the crowd were Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, whose Saving Private Ryan and Band Of Brothers helped elevate the stories of D-Day — including the sacrifices and heroism of servicemen — to new generations.

“We are living at a time when democracy has more risk across the world than at any point since the end of World War II, since these beaches were stormed in 1944,” Biden said. “Now we have to ask ourselves, will we stand against tyranny? Against evil? Against crushing brutality of the iron fist? When we stand for freedom, when we defend democracy, we stand together.”

In his 16-minute speech, Biden did not mention his rival, Donald Trump, but he did talk of the necessity of preserving the NATO alliance, an outgrowth of World War II. Trump has questioned the alliance, particularly over the amount that other countries are putting up in their own defense.

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

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