Trump has failed the heroes of D-Day - By Max Boot

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By Max Boot
Columnist
June 5 at 11:38 AM

Of all the presidential speeches in Normandy, none was as memorable as the one written by Peggy Noonan and delivered by President Ronald Reagan on the 40th anniversary of D-Day in June 1984. It is difficult to believe that we are now almost as far removed from that moment as 1984 was from 1944. The vast differences are readily apparent if you read Reagan’s address, primarily remembered for his tribute to the Rangers who scaled the cliff on which he stood: “These are the boys of Pointe du Hoc. These are the men who took the cliffs. These are the champions who helped free a continent. These are the heroes who helped end a war.” But the rest of the speech is actually more relevant this week as President Trump commemorates the invasion’s 75th anniversary.

Reagan said that the reason that Allied soldiers had risked their lives on D-Day was not only because “one’s country is worth dying for” but also because “democracy is worth dying for.” He then paid tribute to the Allies who, after having won the war, “rebuilt a new Europe together.” He noted that the “United States did its part, creating the Marshall Plan,” which in turn led to NATO, “a great alliance that serves to this day as our shield for freedom, for prosperity, and for peace.”

Reagan went on to say: “We in America have learned bitter lessons from two World Wars: It is better to be here ready to protect the peace, than to take blind shelter across the sea, rushing to respond only after freedom is lost.” And then he added: “The strength of America’s allies is vital to the United States, and the American security guarantee is essential to the continued freedom of Europe’s democracies. We were with you then; we are with you now. Your hopes are our hopes, and your destiny is our destiny.”

Imagine that. A Republican president who believed in fighting for democracy, valued foreign aid (the Marshall Plan was worth $135 billion in 2019 dollars), endorsed NATO without caviling about others’ contributions, advocated internationalism rather than isolationism, and was convinced that the United States’ security depended on standing together with Europe. Truly a lost world.

Can you imagine what Trump would have said had he been in office during the 1940s and Britain had requested U.S. assistance to fight the Nazis? I can almost hear him abusing the British for taking advantage of us, praising Adolf Hitler for being very strong and powerful, and demanding payment before he would send a single “beautiful” American soldier to Europe. That’s speculation, of course, but the way he treats our allies is well-documented.

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/trump-has-failed-the-heroes-of-d-day/2019/06/04/c0f4686a-8700-11e9-a870-b9c411dc4312_story.html

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1. single paragraph that succinctly describes Trump as "President"

"Can you imagine what Trump would have said had he been in office during the 1940s and Britain had requested U.S. assistance to fight the Nazis? I can almost hear him abusing the British for taking advantage of us, praising Adolf Hitler for being very strong and powerful, and demanding payment before he would send a single “beautiful” American soldier to Europe. That’s speculation, of course, but the way he treats our allies is well-documented."