White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on Monday was asked why President Joe Biden failed to commemorate D-Day on Sunday.
What she said: The press secretary dodged the question and said that the president has referred to D-Day in the past.
“I can tell you that certainly the, his value for the role the men who served on D-Day and the memory of them, the families who have kept their memories alive over the course of years on this day is something the president has spoke to many times in the past. It’s close to his heart and I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s more we would have to say about it,” Psaki said.
Jen Psaki, when asked why President Biden did not commemorate the D-Day anniversary yesterday:
"I wouldn't be surprised if there's more we would have to say on it." pic.twitter.com/QDS9iqJhc9
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) June 7, 2021
How we got here: The president did not release a statement on any of his social media accounts, including his personal Twitter account or his official @POTUS account, and the White House did not issue a statement referencing D-Day.
Around 2,500 Americans died on that day.
Biden did highlight his remarks in Tulsa, Oklahoma that marked the 100th anniversary of the 1921 Tulsa race massacre.
Both Vice President Kamala Harris and First Lady Jill Biden posted messages in honor of those who took part in the invasion.
“On the 77th anniversary of #DDay, we honor the heroes who stormed the beaches of Normandy and liberated a continent. We will never forget their courage and sacrifice,” Harris tweeted.
On the 77th anniversary of #DDay, we honor the heroes who stormed the beaches of Normandy and liberated a continent. We will never forget their courage and sacrifice.
— Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) June 6, 2021
“77 years ago, families gathered around radios and heard FDR pray for a ‘peace that will let all of men live in freedom, reaping the just rewards of their honest toil.’ Let us never forget those who fought, their families, or sacrifices, and let us always pray for peace,” Biden wrote.
77 years ago, families gathered around radios and heard FDR pray for a “peace that will let all of men live in freedom, reaping the just rewards of their honest toil.” Let us never forget those who fought, their families, or sacrifices, and let us always pray for peace. #DDay
— Jill Biden (@FLOTUS) June 6, 2021
Worth noting: Biden honored fallen service members, including those who died on D-Day, in his Memorial Day remarks last week.
“War and conflict, death and loss are not relics of our American history; they’re a part of Americans’ story. Here in Arlington lie heroes who gave what President Lincoln called ‘the last full measure of devotion,’” the president said. “They did not only die at Gettysburg or in Flanders Field or on the beaches of Normandy but in the mountains of Afghanistan, the deserts of Iraq in the last 20 years.”
His predecessors: Former Presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump all acknowledged the anniversary of D-Day on their first year in office. Bush commemorated the 57th anniversary of D-Day in a speech in Bedford City, Virginia, and Obama went to Normandy, France for the 65th anniversary in 2009.
