Biden Uses D-Day 80th Anniversary Speech to Attack Putin, Defend Democracy

President Joe Biden used his speech at commemorations of the 80th anniversary of D-Day in Normandy, France, to attack Russian President Vladimir Putin as a “tyrant,” and to urge the world to “save democracy in our time.”

The latter statement evoked Biden’s rhetoric on the campaign trail, where he has cast former President Donald Trump as an enemy of democracy. (Trump spoke at the 75th anniversary of D-Day in 2019 in a widely-hailed speech.)

In his remarks on Russia, Biden hailed the example of the Allies in the Second World War — neglecting to mention that Soviet Russia was a key ally in the fight against the Axis powers — and saying that NATO continued that effort.

“Ukraine has been invaded by a tyrant, bent on domination,” Biden warned. He said that Ukrainians had “inflicted … staggering” losses on Russia, adding: “Nearly one million people have left Russia because they can no longer see a future in Russia.”

“We will not walk away. Because if we do … it will not end there … All of Europe will be threatened,” he said.”To surrender to bullies, to bow down to dictators, is simply unthinkable.”

Biden said that the world was “living at a time when democracy is more at risk across the world than at any point since the end of World War II.”

He added: “Will we stand against tyranny, against evil, against crushing brutality of the iron fist? Will we stand for freedom? Will we defend democracy? Will we stand together? My answer is yes, and only can be yes.”

He concluded: “Democracy is never guaranteed. Every generation must preserve it, defend it, and fight for it.”

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the recent e-book, “The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency,” now available on Audible. He is also the author of the e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.