ALLIES, MAY GOD BLESS THE HEROS OF D-DAY, AND MAY GOD BLESS
AMERICA.
AMERICA. THANK YOU.
THANK YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
[ APPLAUSE ]
>> PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP
DELIVERING WHAT AT LEAST I
BELIEVE TO BE HIS MOST POWERFUL
SPEECH HE’S GIVEN AS PRESIDENT
OF THE UNITED STATES, FROM
CERTAINLY THE MOST MOVING
SETTING.
SETTING. IT FOLLOWED A REMARKABLE SPEECH
AS WELL FROM PRESIDENT MACRON.
PRESIDENT TRUMP BEGAN BY TALKING
ABOUT GATHERING HERE ON
FREEDOM’S ALTAR.
FREEDOM’S ALTAR. THE SPEECH HAD TO BE REASSURING
TO THE ALLIES WHO HE HAD BEEN --
BEEN IN AT LEAST PITCHED
RHETORICAL BATTLE WITH OVER THE
PAST SEVERAL YEARS TALKING ABOUT
AN ALLIANCE THAT IS UNBREAKABLE,
TALKING ABOUT BRITISH RESOLVE,
FRENCH VALOR, THE FIGHTING POLS,
THE INTREPID AUSSIES WHO MADE
THIS POSSIBLE.
THIS POSSIBLE. NOW THE LAYING OF THE WREATH AND
THE MOMENT OF SILENCE.
♪
♪ ♪
♪
♪ ♪
♪ >>> LADIES AND GENTLEMEN PLEASE
REMAIN SEATED AS PRESIDENTS
MACRON AND TRUMP GREET THE WORLD
WAR II VETERANS.
>> MIKA, AS PRESIDENT TRUMP AND
PRESIDENT MACRON GREET THE D-DAY
VETS, YOUR THOUGHTS.
>> I THINK THE ENTIRE CEREMONY
WAS BEAUTIFUL AND IT IS AN
EDUCATION WITHIN ITSELF.
YOU REALLY FEEL THE MAGNITUDE OF
THIS MOMENT IN HISTORY, EVEN 75
YEARS LATER, AND TO SEE THE
VETERANS WHO WERE THERE SITTING
ON THE STAGE IS SOMETHING YOU
HOPE TO NEVER FORGET IN YOUR
LIFE.
LIFE. TRUMP’S SPEECH ITSELF WAS VERY
GOOD AND MEASURED UP TO THE
MOMENT AND REALLY WAS A TRUE
SALUTE TO THE UNITY OF THIS DAY
AND HE SPOKE ABOUT NOT ONLY THE
SACRIFICES THAT WERE MADE, BUT
OUR ALLIES AND THE IMPORTANCE OF
UNITY.
UNITY. IT WAS A REALLY GOOD SPEECH.
>> IT DID MEASURE UP TO THE
MOMENT AS YOU SAID.
IT SEEMS THAT RONALD REAGAN IN
1984 ON THE 40th ANNIVERSARY
REALLY SET THE STAGE FOR THESE
COMMEMORATIONS.
COMMEMORATIONS. IT WAS REMARKABLE, THE WORDS
THAT HE SPOKE THAT PEGGY NOONAN
HELPED CRAFT ABOUT THE BOYS OF
POINTE DU HOC.
OTHER PRESIDENTS DID NOT FAIR
QUITE AS WELL.
BILL CLINTON AND GEORGE W. BUSH
COME TO MIND.
BUT WILLIE, THE PRESIDENT,
PRESIDENT TRUMP, HAD SEVERAL
HIGH MOMENTS.
HIGH MOMENTS. OF COURSE WE’LL ALL BE TALKING
ABOUT THE MEN THAT HE SPOKE OF.
BUT THERE WILL BE HEADLINES FROM
THIS SPEECH AND CERTAINLY I
THINK ACROSS EUROPE AT LEAST
AMONG OUR ALLIES, THEY WILL BE
POSITIVE HEADLINES.
POSITIVE HEADLINES. THE PRESIDENT, AGAIN, TALKING
ABOUT BRITISH RESOLVE AND FRENCH
VALOR, TALKING ABOUT THE
FIGHTING POLS, TALKING ABOUT THE
INTREPID AUSSIES, BUT ALSO
TALKING ABOUT AN ALLIANCE THAT
WAS FORGED IN WAR, STRENGTHENED
IN PEACE, AND IS UNBREAKABLE
TODAY.
TODAY. THAT, THOSE ARE WORDS THAT OUR
ALLIES HAVE WANTED TO HEAR FROM
THIS COMMANDER IN CHIEF FOR SOME
TIME.
TIME. PERHAPS IT WAS THIS REMARKABLE
SETTING THAT FINALLY GOT THE
PRESIDENT TO SAY WHAT THEY HAD
BEEN WANTING TO HEAR FOR THE
FIRST TWO AND A HALF YEARS OF
THIS PRESIDENCY.
THIS PRESIDENCY. >> ONE OF THE LAST LINES OF THAT
SPEECH, JOE, WAS GOD BLESS OUR
ALLIES, RIGHT BEFORE HE SAID GOD
BLESS AMERICA.
BLESS AMERICA. WE’LL SEE NOW IF HIS POLICY AND
FURTHER RHETORIC LIVES UP TO
THAT.
THAT. I TOTALLY AGREE WITH BOTH OF
YOU.
YOU. I THOUGHT IT WAS A TERRIFIC
SPEECH.
SPEECH. I THOUGHT HE DID A GREAT JOB
TELLING THE STORY OF D-DAY
THROUGH THE MEN AND WOMEN WHO
WERE SITTING THERE BEHIND THEM.
I THOUGHT IT WAS PRECEDED BY
ANOTHER GREAT SPEECH FROM
PRESIDENT MACRON WHO EXPRESSED
THE AWE AND GRATITUDE WE’RE ALL
FEELING TODAY.
FEELING TODAY. THE LINE TA PRESIDENT TRUMP
DELIVERED, QUOTE, YOU ARE AMONG
THE GREATEST AMERICANS WHO WILL
EVER LIVE.
EVER LIVE. YOU ARE THE PRIDE OF OUR NATION.
YOU ARE THE GLORY OF OUR
REPUBLIC.
REPUBLIC. ISN’T THAT THE TRUTH.
MICHAEL BESCHLOSS, I THOUGHT HE
WEAVED TOGETHER, ALSO I’M GLAD
HE ACKNOWLEDGED MARIAN WYNN WHO
BECAME A PIPE WELDER TO JOIN THE
WAR EFFORT AS 6 MILLION OTHER
DID, WHOSE BROTHER DIED AND LAYS
IN THE AMERICAN CEMETERY THERE
BEHIND THE CEREMONY TODAY.
>> YES, I SURE AGREE WITH YOU,
WILLIE, THIS DAY IS REALLY ABOUT
THE VETS AND ESPECIALLY BECAUSE
THIS IS PROBABLY THE LAST TIME
WE WILL BE ABLE TO HAVE A
CEREMONY LIKE THIS WITH SO MANY
PEOPLE WHO WERE ACTIVE IN THE
WAR EFFORT AND THE WAR HEROS OF
D-DAY.
D-DAY. THE THING I THOUGHT WAS
INTERESTING, ESPECIALLY
INTERESTING, ESPECIALLY CONTRASTED WITH ALL THOSE OTHER
CELEBRATIONS, WERE AMERICAN
PRESIDENTS ATTENDED WAS BEFORE
DONALD TRUMP SPOKE WHEN WE HEARD
FROM PRESIDENT MACRON IT WAS
ALMOST A LECTURE TO OUR
PRESIDENT AND KEPT SAYING, DEAR,
PRESIDENT TRUMP, AND HE WOULD
SAY THINGS LIKE, AMERICA’S NEVER
BETTER THAN WHEN WE’RE FIGHTING,
AMERICA’S FIGHTING FOR FREEDOM
AND FOR DEMOCRATIC IDEALS AND HE
OFFERED TO RENEW THE FRIENDSHIP
WITH FRANCE, THAT’S SOMETHING
YOU WOULD NEVER HAVE HAD TO HAVE
A FRENCH PRESIDENT DO BEFORE IN
OUR HISTORY.
OUR HISTORY. I HOPE THAT THIS IS SOMETHING
THAT CLOSES THE CIRCLE WITH SOME
HEALING AND THAT WHEN PRESIDENT
TRUMP SAID THOSE NICE THINGS
ABOUT OUR ALLIES AND ABOUT OUR
ALLIANCE, I HOPE HE REALLY MEANS
IT AND HOPE HE WILL REMEMBER
WHAT HE SAID BEYOND TODAY.
>> LET US HOPE THAT TWEETS DO
NOT FOLLOW.
NOT FOLLOW. >> LET THIS MOMENT BREATHE.
IT’S A GOOD ONE.
>> WELL, LET’S HOPE THIS MOMENT
CONTINUES AND ALL I WILL SAY OF
PRESIDENT MACRON’S WORDS, AND
CHALLENGES TO THE PRESIDENT, I
ALSO, DAVID IGNATIUS, AM GLAD
THAT PRESIDENT CHOSE TO HAVE THE
DISCIPLINE TO STICK TO SCRIPT
AND DELIVER WHAT, AGAIN, I
BELIEVE IS A STRONGEST SPEECH OF
HIS PRESIDENCY.
HIS PRESIDENCY. THERE WAS ONE ESPECIALLY
BEAUTIFUL MOMENT AND I LOVED THE
THOUGHT BECAUSE ANY WORLD WAR II
DOCUMENTARY YOU SEE, ANY VIETNAM
DOCUMENTARY YOU SEE, WHEN THE
INTERVIEWER STARTS TALKING ABOUT
THEM BEING HEROES, THEY WILL
TEAR UP AND THEY WILL SAY, THE
HEROS WERE THE ONES THAT NEVER
CAME BACK.
CAME BACK. WELL, PRESIDENT TRUMP SAID THAT
THAT’S WHAT THESE HEROS WERE
SAYING.
SAYING. THE HEROS WERE THE ONES BURIED
HERE BEHIND US.
YET, HE WENT ON TO SAY -- TO
TALK ABOUT THE REMARKABLE LIFE
THAT WAS CREATED BY THIS
GENERATION.
GENERATION. TOM BROKAW CALLED THE GREATEST
GENERATION AND YOU CAN TAKE THE
ENDING OF SAVING PRIVATE RYAN
WHERE TOM HANKS’ CHARACTER SAID
TO PRIVATE RYAN, EARN THIS.
AS HE LAY DYING ON THAT BRIDGE.
THAT’S WHAT THIS GENERATION DID.
THEY EERPD THIS.
>> I THOUGHT PRESIDENT TRUMP HIT
PRETTY MUCH EVERY NOTE RIGHT IN
THIS SPEECH.
THIS SPEECH. IT WAS WELL WRITTEN.
IT WAS WELL DELIVERED.
I THINK HE CAME HERE
UNDERSTANDING THAT THIS WAS AN
EVENT THAT REQUIRED HIM TO TELL
THE AMERICAN STORY, NOT DONALD
TRUMP’S STORY, NOT A PERSONAL,
BUT SOMETHING ABOUT REALLY
RESONATES THROUGH PRESIDENCIES,
THROUGH GENERATIONS, AND WE
HEARD IT AND AS WE HEARD THE
PRESIDENT TELL THE STORIES OF
THESE VETERANS BEHIND HIM AND
THAT FRAIL RISING TO RECEIVE THE
APPLAUSE OF THE AUDIENCE, I
THINK ALL OF US FELT THAT
PRESIDENT TRUMP, ON OUR BEHALF,
WAS THANKING THESE BRAVE, NOW
OLD MEN, WHO CAME HERE 75 YEARS
AGO.
AGO. TODAY WAS A DAY WHEN PRESIDENT
TRUMP GOT IT RIGHT AND I THINK
WE ALL FEEL THAT WATCHING AND
LISTENING TO HIM.
>> HE GOT IT RIGHT NOT ONLY BY
TALKING ABOUT WHAT THE UNITED
STATES DID, BUT, MIKE, I THINK
MOST IMPORTANTLY, RAISING OUR
ALLIES UP.
ALLIES UP. LIFTING OUR ALLIES UP JUST AS
MACRON HAD LIFTED US UP, LIFTING
UP THOSE WHO MADE VICTORY OVER
HITLER POSSIBLE.
HITLER POSSIBLE. >> HE DID TO THAT.
THE SPEECH WAS MUCH MORE THAN
JUST APPROPRIATE AND THAT’S A
HIGH BAR FOR DONALD TRUMP THAT
WE’VE ALL BECOME FAMILIAR WITH.
NOW THE QUESTION IS, OFF OF WHAT
HE SAID ABOUT THE ALLIANCE THAT
WAS FORMED, LITERALLY HERE, WITH
THE LIVES OF THESE PEOPLE, THESE
YOUNG MEN BEHIND US, BURIED NOW
FOR 75 YEARS, THE CRUX OF THAT
SPEECH IS GOING TO BE WHEN
ANGELA MERKEL LEAVES HERE TODAY,
WHEN MACRON LEAVES HERE TODAY,
WHEN THE LEADERS OF NORWAY AND
POLAND SITTING, WATCHING THE
SPEECH, IN DUBLIN WATCHING THE
SPEECH, ARE THEY GOING TO --
WHAT ARE THEY GOING TO BE
SAYING?
SAYING? THEY’RE GOING TO BE SAYING WHICH
DONALD TRUMP ARE WE GOING TO GET
TOMORROW?
TOMORROW? WHICH DONALD TRUMP ARE WE GOING
TO GET NEXT WEEK IN NEGOTIATIONS
ABOUT NATO?
ABOUT NATO? WHICH DONALD TRUMP ARE WE GOING
TO GET WHEN HE COMES TO TALK
ABOUT TARIFFS?
ABOUT TARIFFS? ARE WE GOING TO GET THE DONALD
TRUMP WE’VE BECOME USED TO OR
ARE WE GOING TO GET THE DONALD
TRUMP WHO IS CLEARLY MORE THAN
APPROPRIATE TODAY HERE IN HIS
REMARKS.
REMARKS. >> I WROTE EARLIER IN "THE
WASHINGTON POST" ABOUT
SEPARATING THE GROUND NOISE FROM
THE SIGNAL.
THE SIGNAL. THERE CERTAINLY WAS A LOT OF
GROUND NICE LEADING IN TO THIS
TRIP.
TRIP. TALKING ABOUT SUPPOSED INSULTS
AND DEBATES, WHETHER THE
PRINCESS WAS INSULTED OR NOT.
IF YOU LOOK AT SIGNAL HOW DOES
HE TREAT OUR ALLIES WHEN HE’S
OVERSEAS.
OVERSEAS. YOU LOOK AT ACTUALLY, MIKA, THE
GENEROSITY OF SPIRIT HE SHOWED
TO TERESA PAY, SOMEONE THAT HE
HAS BEEN QUITE FIERCE WITH IN
THE PAST AND WHAT HE SAID HERE
TODAY, I THINK IT’S SAFE TO SAY
THIS IS ONE OF HIS MORE
SUCCESSFUL TRIPS ABROAD IF NOT
HIS MOST SUCCESSFUL TRIP ABROAD.
BUT LET ME SAY --
>> BUT, BUT, BUT --
>> THUS FAR.
>> THUS FAR.
AS AN AMERICAN, I’M HOPING WE
CAN ALL SAY THAT WHEN WE ARE IN
THE STUDIO NEXT WEEK.