Biden Visits a Military Cemetery in France That Trump Once Snubbed

There is trolling. And then there is presidential trolling.

President Biden on Sunday wrapped up a five-day visit to France by making a point to visit a cemetery for American soldiers killed in World War I. That, of course, is the kind of thing that presidents typically do.

But this particular cemetery was the same one that President Donald J. Trump was supposed to visit in 2018 before canceling, citing the rain, and touching off a political furor. For Mr. Biden — running against Mr. Trump again — visiting the cemetery was meant to send a message to voters back home.

“America showed up,” he said. “America showed up.”

Mr. Biden was talking about the United States military during World War I. But he might as well have been talking about Mr. Trump’s refusal to show up six years ago.

Asked directly what he was trying to say about his rival in this year’s presidential race, Mr. Biden paused for a moment.

“Any other questions?” he said.

But the decision to visit the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery, at the foot of the hill where the Battle of Belleau Wood was fought, was no accident. Having already spent two days in Normandy paying tribute to American soldiers who landed on the beaches there on D-Day in 1944, Mr. Biden certainly did not need to add another event honoring veterans. But evidently the opportunity was too good to pass up.

Neither Mr. Biden nor Mr. Trump ever served in the military, and both have had their disagreements with generals as commander in chief. But Mr. Biden’s son Beau Biden served in the Army in Iraq and the president has expressed strong feelings of attachment to veterans. Mr. Trump, by contrast, has often denigrated those who have served, a point that Mr. Biden wanted to draw attention to by his visit on Sunday.