Forty Years Later, Biden Seeks to Echo Reagan’s Legacy of American Leadership

At Pointe du Hoc in Normandy, President Biden plans to follow one of the former president’s most iconic speeches with his own testimonial to democracy and the need to resist isolationism.



Forty years ago, President Ronald Reagan delivered his “Boys of Pointe-du-Hoc” address on the cliffs scaled by U.S. Army Rangers during the D-Day invasion of Normandy in France. Ron Edmonds/Associated Press

By Peter Baker
Peter Baker has covered the past five presidents, including a previous presidential visit to Normandy, and will travel with President Biden to Pointe du Hoc on Friday.

Published June 6, 2024
Updated June 7, 2024, 11:00 a.m. ET

The aging American president facing a re-election campaign came to the Normandy coast of France to pay tribute to the daring Army Rangers who scaled the cliffs of Pointe du Hoc, offer a paean to democracy for which they sacrificed and perhaps even wrap himself a little bit in their reflected glory. ... That was 1984, and the president was Ronald Reagan, who delivered an ode to heroism and patriotism that would become one of the most iconic moments of his presidency. Forty years later, another aging president facing re-election plans to return to the same spot Friday to honor the same heroes and effectively align himself with Mr. Reagan’s legacy of leadership against tyranny.

President Biden will not be the first president to try to walk in Mr. Reagan’s footsteps in Normandy, and it is a risky gamble. To many in both parties, Mr. Reagan’s speech remains the gold standard of presidential oratory and none have matched it at Normandy since. But like Mr. Reagan, Mr. Biden wants to use the inspiring story of the Rangers at Pointe du Hoc to make a case for American alliances in the face of Russian aggression — and, implicitly, for himself. ... If there is something audacious about Mr. Biden, a staunch Democrat who was no friend of Mr. Reagan’s in the 1980s, summoning the spirit of the Republican legend, it speaks to the up-is-down, black-is-white nature of politics in today’s America. When it comes to international relations, the 46th president essentially is arguing that he has more in common with the 40th president than the current head of the Republican Party does.

He will not name former President Donald J. Trump, but the contrast will be clear. While Mr. Biden leads an international alliance against Russian aggression in Europe, as Mr. Reagan did, Mr. Trump as president came close to pulling out of NATO and was friendlier toward President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia than to America’s traditional European allies. ... Since leaving office, Mr. Trump has not been a supporter of providing military aid for Ukraine to defend itself against Russian invaders. The former president even publicly declared that he would “encourage” Russia “to do whatever the hell they want” against NATO members that do not spend enough on their militaries.

It is hard to imagine Mr. Reagan telling Moscow to feel free to attack European allies. When he appeared at Pointe du Hoc on June 6, 1984, Mr. Reagan condemned Soviet armies for staying in Europe after World War II “uninvited, unwanted, unyielding” and said that “we’ve learned that isolationism never was and never will be an acceptable response to tyrannical governments with an expansionist intent.” ... Standing above a German concrete bunker, Mr. Reagan paid tribute to the Army Rangers who scaled the 100-foot rust-colored cliffs that morning 40 years earlier to take out a suspected gun emplacement. ... Standing above a German concrete bunker, Mr. Reagan paid tribute to the Army Rangers who scaled the 100-foot rust-colored cliffs that morning 40 years earlier to take out a suspected gun emplacement. ...“These are the boys of Pointe du Hoc,” he said as about 30 of them sat in front of him, some teary-eyed. “These are the men who took the cliffs. These are the champions who helped free a continent. These are the heroes who helped end a war.”


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Peter Baker is the chief White House correspondent for The Times. He has covered the last five presidents and sometimes writes analytical pieces that place presidents and their administrations in a larger context and historical framework. More about Peter Baker