President Biden experienced an embarrassing moment of confusion at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier as he stumbled through a Veterans Day service.
The 80-year-old president needed stage directions from a military officer after laying a ceremonial wreath, taking several steps in the wrong direction before being directed to his spot next to Vice President Kamala Harris.
Biden then delivered a speech about the “ultimate sacrifice” of U.S. troops, acknowledging escalating global tensions and praising how “Americans around the world stand guard, often at great personal risk.”
“War and conflict, death and loss, are not remnants of our American history; they are part of our American story.”
As Biden spoke: Hundreds of pro-Palestinian demonstrators descended at his mansion in Delaware to protest US support for Israel in the Middle East conflict.
After laying a ceremonial wreath, Biden appeared to need direction from a military officer as he took steps in the wrong direction
Biden, 80, paid his respects to the fallen soldiers at the service, where he said that “war and conflict, death and loss, are not remnants of our American history – they are part of the American story.”
Also present at the solemn service were (L-R) Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, Vice President Kamala Harris and First Lady Jill Biden.
As Biden spoke in Arlington, hundreds of pro-Palestinian supporters descended on his Delaware mansion, criticizing U.S. support for Israel as the Middle East conflict escalates.
Biden was joined at Arlington National Cemetery by Harris, First Lady Jill Biden and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff to celebrate the armed forces.
Speaking before members of the armed forces and Gold Star families, Biden began: “Here in Arlington lie heroes who gave what President Lincoln called ‘the last full measure of devotion.’
‘They have died over the past twenty years not only at Gettysburg or in Flanders Field on the beaches of Normandy, but also in the mountains of Afghanistan, the deserts of Iraq.
‘Here are hundreds of graves from recent conflicts. Hundreds of patriots gave everything and each of them left behind a family that lives with their pain and their absence every day.”
He added that veterans are the “steel backbone of this nation,” and recounted famous battles where soldiers were “linked in a chain of honor that goes back to our founding fathers.”
“Everyone is bound by a sacred oath to support and defend. Not a place, not a person, not a president, but an idea, to defend an idea unlike any other in human history,” he said.
“That idea is the United States of America.”
US President Joe Biden lays a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery during Veterans Day celebrations
Biden revealed a card from his jacket that he said he has carried since he was vice president, showing an updated number of U.S. soldiers killed in recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“Today that number is 7,036,” he said. ‘7,036 fallen angels who lost their lives in these conflicts.
“This Memorial Day we honor their legacy and their sacrifice, duty and honor to their country.”
Saturday’s service was the 70th annual National Veterans Day Observance in Arlington, and followed a private reception in the East Room of the White House for veterans and military officials.
At the same time as his comments, Biden’s Delaware mansion became the subject of a major protest against the war in the Middle East.
Dozens of Palestinian flags flew outside his sprawling estate, next to signs calling for an end to US funding of Israel after the war-torn country’s retaliatory strikes against Hamas killed at least 11,000 people in Gaza.
The president acknowledged escalating global tensions in his speech, adding: “Americans stand guard around the world, often at great personal risk.”
Saturday’s service was the 70th annual National Veterans Day Observance at Arlington National Cemetery
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris listen to the national anthem during a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
On Monday, Biden also spoke about the role of U.S. military power around the world, urging Americans to honor the troops for defending democracy as it is “in danger here at home and around the world.” .
“What we do now, how we honor the memory of the fallen, will determine whether democracy will long survive,” he said.
Biden also appeared to comment on growing fears that his likely election rival Donald Trump could challenge the outcome of an election again in 2024, as he argued that “democracy thrives when the infrastructure of democracy is strong.”
The political theme expanded in his speech in Arlington on Saturday, where he emphasized the importance of the “right to vote freely, fairly and easily.”
“We were built on an idea, the idea of freedom and opportunity for all,” Biden continued.
“We have never fully realized that aspiration of our founding,” he argued, adding that “each generation has opened the door a little wider.”