A hot mic moment captured President Joe Biden confiding in French President Emmanuel Macron during an 80th-anniversary D-Day commemoration in Normandy, France. Biden mentioned that his advance team had advised him to leave the event first to avoid delaying others, setting the stage for a notable departure from the ceremony.
The commemoration, held at the Normandy American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer overlooking Omaha Beach, honored the 9,388 Americans laid to rest there, alongside 1,557 names on the Walls of the Missing.
As Biden conversed with Macron upon arrival, he remarked about his need to leave promptly, a statement Macron acknowledged with silence as they proceeded.
During the ceremony, Biden appeared inclined to sit while standing alongside first lady Jill Biden and the Macrons. True to his word, he promptly exited the stage at the conclusion of the event, whereas Macron remained to greet American veterans, demonstrating a different approach to engagement.
Biden and the first lady did take the opportunity to shake hands with some World War II veterans on their way out. The ceremony drew an estimated 10,000 to 12,000 attendees, marking the significance of the event and the enduring memory of the Normandy invasion.
The D-Day operation, the largest amphibious operation in history, saw Allied forces land on five Normandy beach sites, supported by paratrooper drops behind enemy lines. The immense mobilization of troops, ships, and aircraft underlined the magnitude of the operation, as Supreme Allied Commander Gen. Dwight Eisenhower’s words emphasized the gravity of the undertaking and the global stakes involved.
