The Latest: Excerpts from Trump's D-Day speech released
LIMERICK, Ireland (AP) — The Latest on D-Day commemorations and President Donald Trump (all times local):
8:30 p.m.
President Donald Trump has commemorated the 75th anniversary of D-Day by paying tribute to the “cherished alliance” forged in battle by the U.S. and partner nations.
Trump told aging warriors gathered on a bluff overlooking Omaha Beach, “Our debt to you is everlasting.”
Under calm blue skies Thursday, Trump underscored the magnitude of the tumultuous June day in 1945, saying: “Those who fought here won a future for our nation. They won the survival of our civilization, and they showed us the way to love, cherish and defend our way of life for many centuries to come.”
Trump has at times questioned the value of NATO and other institutions that emerged from World War II.
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6 p.m.
A top American lawmaker is declining to criticize President Donald Trump while she leads a group of members of Congress at the 75th anniversary of D-Day in France.
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she’s not in Europe “to talk about impeachment.”
Her focus during an interview on MSBNC was honoring veterans and expressing hopes for a “message of unity.”
The Democratic lawmaker from California cites Ronald Reagan and John F. Kennedy, former presidents with expansive views of the U.S. role overseas. She hopes Trump will “convey a renewed spirit of collaboration” with allies.
Pelosi is leading a delegation of some 80 members of Congress, many of them veterans.
Trump, in a Fox News interview, has called Pelosi a “disaster” and he’s tried out a new nickname for her, “Nervous Nancy.”
Trump also was in France on Thursday and spoke at the anniversary of the invasion that helped free Europe from Nazi occupation
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4:55 p.m.
Vice President Mike Pence has traveled to the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford, Virginia, and paid tribute to what he calls “the pride of our nation” — the remaining U.S. veterans who participated in the D-Day landings in France that took place 75 years ago.
Pence says “we marvel at the courage that you showed as young men.”
With those veterans in mind, as well as those who died on D-Day or years later, he said: “We say one more time, thank you for your service, thank you for our freedom.”
The rural Virginia town’s D-Day losses were among the steepest, proportionally, of any American community. Twenty men from Bedford or the surrounding area were killed on D-Day — June 6, 1944. Bedford had a population of about 4,000 at the time.
Pence highlighted the story of the fallen, who came to be known as the “Bedford Boys.”
He says the truest memorial to them is “Our freedom, the freedom they fought and sacrificed so much for.”
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3:20 p.m.
President Donald Trump is playing down differences with France over Iran, telling French President Emmanuel Macron that they both agree Tehran should not have nuclear weapons.
Trump reiterated his offer to reopen negotiations with Tehran over its nuclear program. Speaking Thursday with Trump in Caen, France, Macron agreed that a new negotiation needs to be opened with Iran.
The U.S. withdrew last year from a nuclear deal between Iran and world powers and re-imposed harsh economic sanctions on Iran. Trump recently sent military assets to the region, citing intelligence reports of threats of attacks from Iran.
Other signatories to the Iran deal — France, Germany, Britain, Russia and China — have been struggling to keep Iran in the deal and reduce tension.
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2:24 p.m.
Security, the fight against terrorism, instability in the Middle East, trade and Iran are all topics President Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron are expected to discuss in a meeting that has gotten underway in Caen, France.
The two are meeting Thursday after attending a ceremony at Normandy American Cemetery marking the 75th anniversary of D-Day. Afterward, Trump flew to Caen where he and first lady Melania Trump were welcomed with a red carpet, French troops and a military band.
At the D-Day ceremony, Trump and Macron chatted and shared warm handshakes, but they disagree on key issues, including climate change, Iran and world trade.
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1:20 p.m.
President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron and their wives are paying respects at the Normandy American Cemetery near Omaha Beach where allied forces landed in a D-Day invasion that helped free Europe from Nazi occupation.
First lady Melania Trump laid a bouquet of white flowers at the manicured cemetery.
Rows of white crosses mark graves that were decorated with tiny American and French flags to mark the 75th anniversary of D-Day.
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1:06 p.m.
President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron and their wives are overlooking a beachfront in Normandy, France, where American and allied forces landed in an invasion that helped free Europe from Nazi occupation.
Trump is at the Normandy American Cemetery near Omaha Beach Thursday to mark the 75th anniversary of D-Day.
Following a program and gun salute, the four walked to an overlook and stood silently as a bugler played “Taps.” They surveyed a map of the invasion and watched as fighter jets and planes, including some leaving trails of red, white and blue smoke, flew overhead.
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12:45 p.m.
Trump is participating in a moment of silence for the men who died during the D-Day invasion during World War II.
Trump is in France at the Normandy American Cemetery near Omaha Beach where the Americans landed on June 6, 1944.
In a ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of D-Day, the president said the troops who conducted the invasion set an example that will never grow old.
Trump says the troops not only won a battle, but won a future for the United States and the “survival of our civilization.”
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12:22 p.m.
President Donald Trump is praising the veterans of D-Day, saying they are “among the very greatest Americans who will ever live.”
Trump is speaking in France at the Normandy American Cemetery near Omaha Beach where the Americans landed on June 6, 1944.
Trump said that on that day — 75 years ago — 10,000 men sacrificed their lives not only for their fellow troops and their countries, but for the “survival of liberty.”
Trump says the ground the allied forces captured during the invasion “won back this ground for civilization.”
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10:45 a.m.
President Donald Trump has greeted World War II veterans, some covered with blankets against the chill, as he prepared to participate in a ceremony commemorating the 75th anniversary of D-Day.
Trump has gathered with other world leaders at the Normandy American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer, France, to honor those who died and participated in the battle that turned the course of the war.
He greeted the veterans with handshakes before taking his place on stage next to his wife, first lady Melania Trump.
According to speech excerpts released by the White House, Trump will laud the 130,000 service members who participated in the invasion as the “citizens of free and independent nations, united by their duty to their compatriots and to millions yet unborn.”
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