D-Day symbol of American-French friendship under strain
Posted May 31, 2019 06:26:51 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
COLLEVILLE-SUR-MER, France — Two sons of former U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt are buried in Normandy, symbols of the American drive to fight for Europe’s freedom and trans-Atlantic commitment that many tens of thousands have died for.
Next week, to mark 75 years since the D-Day invasion, U.S. President Donald Trump and French counterpart Emmanuel Macron will visit the cemetery where the Roosevelt sons are buried and honour D-Day veterans and the fallen near to Omaha Beach.
The Trump administration, however, has little of the Roosevelts’ Atlanticist spirit. And the commemoration ceremonies are a reminder of today’s tensions.
Trump has slapped tariffs on EU goods, pulled the U.S. out of the EU-boosted Paris Climate Accord and the Iran nuclear deal and suggested he might be willing to pull the U.S. out of NATO if Europeans don’t significantly up their defence spending.
The Associated Press
