To reinforce the U.S. alliance with West Germany, Kennedy travelled to West Germany and West Berlin in June 1963. On June 26, the president toured West Berlin, culminating in a public speech at West Berlin's city hall in front of hundreds of thousands of enthusiastic Berliners. He reiterated the American commitment to Germany and criticized communism, and was met with an ecstatic response from a massive audience. Kennedy used the construction of the Berlin Wall as an example of the failures of communism: "Freedom has many difficulties, and democracy is not perfect. But we have never had to put a wall up to keep our people in, to prevent them from leaving us." The speech is known for its famous phrase ""Ich bin ein Berliner"" ("I am a citizen of Berlin"), which Kennedy himself had begun to try out in preparation of the trip. Kennedy remarked to Ted Sorensen afterwards: "We'll never have another day like this one, as long as we live."