Biden mixes D-Day commemoration with warnings about democracy’s vulnerability

COLLEVILLE-SUR-MER, France — For the most part, Joe Biden's address marking the 80th anniversary of D-Day sounded like a familiar ode to a historic war victory — but tucked into the speech was a warning to Americans.

Biden name-checked the World War II veterans who sat behind him on stage in wheelchairs, blankets draped over their laps in the early afternoon chill. He praised their sacrifice in defeating Nazi tyranny. He highlighted the importance of alliances.

But he slipped in a plea to those who will decide in a few months whether he remains in power: Democracy is a fragile thing and, all these years later, the battle for its survival is still in doubt.

"Let us be the generation that when history is written about our time in 10, 20, 30, 50, 80 years from now, it will be said when the moment came, we met the moment," Biden said. "We stood strong, our alliances were made stronger. And we saved democracy in our time as well."

Biden never mentioned his Republican rival by name, but his speech offered an implicit critique of Donald Trump’s “America First” approach that devalues the post-war alliances that the U.S. helped build to ensure its security.

He spoke proudly about how the NATO military alliance has expanded on his watch — Finland and Sweden joined since he became president — providing a bulwark against Russian aggression. Trump repeatedly threatened to pull out of NATO and some worry that he’d go through with it if elected to another term.

Biden used the speech to argue that, despite Trump’s complaint that European allies don’t contribute enough to NATO and rely on the U.S. to fill the gap, the alliance is essential to beating back present-day dictators.

“America has invested in our alliances and forged new