Trump Reads From FDR’s Prayer to the U.S. on D-Day

PORTSMOUTH, England (AP) -
President Donald Trump speaks during an event to mark the 75th anniversary of D-Day in Portsmouth, England Wednesday. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)


Roosevelt went on national radio on June 6, 1944, to address the US for the first time about the Normandy invasion. Trump, with images of an American flag and Roosevelt projected behind him, read to crowd: “G-d, our sons, pride of our nation, this day, have set upon a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our republic, our religion and our civilization and to set free a suffering humanity.”




After the event, Trump visited with American World War II veterans who were among Allied troops on D-Day. He was to have lunch and meet briefly with German Chancellor Angela Merkel before departing for Ireland to meet with Prime Minister Leo Varadkar and stay at his golf course in the village of Doonbeg.

During a news conference Tuesday, Trump said he is grateful for the warm welcome he received from the British royal family and prime minister as “we remember the heroes who laid down their lives to rescue civilization itself.” He played down protests of his visit, describing the thousands of people who demonstrated in London as a “small protest.”


“The bonds of friendship forged here and sealed in blood on those hallowed beaches will endure forever,” Trump said at the news conference.

Also on Tuesday, Trump and first lady Melania Trump toured the Churchill War Rooms, the British government’s underground command center during World War II.