hello, it is 10:00 eastern. thanks for joining us. i'm ana cabrera reporting from new york. we begin with the breaking news from france this morning where this hour president biden is

poised to give a consequential speech on the world stage, returning to the beaches of normandy again this morning to deliver remarks on the threats against democracy and freedom at home and overseas. now, this speech coming just hours after president biden met with ukrainian president zelenskyy in paris announcing $225 million in new aid and apologizing for the political gridlock in washington that delayed that package. nbc's kelly o'donnell is traveling with the president in france. also with us, david ignatius, foreign affairs columnist for "the washington post," nbc news military analyst, retired colonel jack jacobs and presidential historian mark updegrove. it's great to have all of you with us. kelly, set the stage for us as we await the president. >> reporter: well, it is a spectacular setting. when you see how the white house has set up the president's lectern on the cliff. this is a cliff that 80 years ago american army rangers scaled that cliff using knives and

pieces of equipment to hoist themselves up the side of the cliff in order to disable nazi armaments that were there in order to protect other soldiers and sailors who were coming ashore. a very pivotal part of what was d-day 80 years ago and what is being remembered now. today the president without all the other world leaders that were a part of yesterday, without all of the pomp and ceremony associated with commemorating d-day is speaking in perhaps more current terms about threats to democracy, concern about ukraine, concern about alliances and how the united states needs to be a part of the world order that was in many ways defined and supported and really preserved over the decades since world war ii because of the lessons of world war ii. so those are some of the themes that we expect from the president today. he earlier met with president zelenskyy of ukraine and talked about a new aid package to support ukraine at a time when we know in the united states

there is some weainess about the war in ukraine, also the war in israel and gaza, and certainly republicans on capitol hill were slow to get on board with supporting that additional funding for ukraine. ana. >> we know the president is close by, not quite there yet, looks like a beautiful day, though, in normandy at the pointe du hoc. and david, what effect can this speech have, do you think, both for allies and enemies in the international community? >> i think it will be a galvanizing speech, pointe du hoc is a symbol of bravery, the commitment of the united states to its allies in europe. i think going to a place where president reagan spoke so forcefully is a two-edged sword, comparison will enhance biden's stature. in one sense he's giving the same message that captivated the

world when ronald reagan delivered it, but there will be inevitable comparisons to how he does it to the kind of presentation, he's in a sense on the same stage as one of the great actors ever to serve as president of the united states. so that has its difficultties. i think his speech yesterday in normandy was good, are strongly delivered, and if he gets the message powerfully today evoking the threat to the world that president vladimir putin poses requiring the same kind of courage that led those young americans to scale that incredible hundreds of feet of cliff at pointe du hoc, he'll get a strong audience and reception, i think. >> just to remind our viewers of that iconic speech that reagan gave 40 years ago, let's play a small portion of it. >> these are the boys of pointe du hoc.

these are the men who took the cliffs. these are the champions who helped free a continent. >> colonel, i know your father served in world war ii. what are you hoping to hear from the current president at this time where we are in a perilous moment in the world, at a time where here in the u.s. leaders are divided on america's role at this time. >> well, we need to hear a reaffirmation that americans' commitment to its own defense and the defense of our interests and our allies overseas, we have a tendency to be very isolationist, you know. by the time we ended the second world war, the war had been going on for two and a half years in europe. people were getting slaughtered on two continents. the war in asia had been going on for a decade, and yet, we were reluctant to get involved. the president of the united states, franklin roosevelt as a

matter of fact, got on the radio and talked about how we were going to let asian boys fight in asia. european boys were going to fight in europe. we were not going to fight. he said i hate war, eleanor his wife, eleanor hates war. he said falla, falla was his dog, falla hates war. it resonated with an american population who was not interested in getting involved in what they perceived to be adventures overseas, and when we finally got attacked, we responded. but sometimes you have to come to the conclusion it takes something like that to get the american populous behind defending its own self. we may be in a more difficult and dangerous situation now, the smaller world made even smaller by technology. >> more dangerous than during world war ii? >> yes, than in world war ii because our enemies, our

adversaries can inflict enormous damage on the united states through both old traditional means, but also by electronic means, and we're having a very hard time coming together just to defend ourselves let alone our interests overseas, ana. >> and mark, president biden we know chose the location of this speech, pointe du hoc very carefully because of reagan's famous remarks 40 years ago there, amid a struggling re-election campaign, and "the new york times" put it like this, quote, 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. mark, remind us why reagan's 1984 speech was so impactful and what it means for president biden today. >> ana, one of the central

goals -- president reagan's central goal in foreign policy was to have a definitive end to the cold war, and not just a neutral end but a clear victory of american values over communist totalitarianism, so that speech became very, very important, and we were on the road to that kind of victory, the cold war ended over three decades ago, and now we see isolationism and totalitarianism once again rising in the world. joe biden took the speech -- took the presidency, rather, with a central goal of making the preservation of freedom and democracy the goal of his administration, and he has an opportunity to sound a message about that today at a time when we're seeing a bent toward authoritarianism and isolationism in our country and abroad. we've seen what he's done to return us to democratic norms here in the united states.

we've seen what he's done to revive nato toward the liberation of ukraine from russian aggression. so this becomes an enormously important speech for president biden to sound that message, to show that america is still an emblem of democratic values and freedom in this world, ana. >> kelly, how high are the expectations internally for the white house that they've set for this speech? >>. >> reporter: from the advisers that we have been speaking to and the coverage of this trip so far, i think there is a strong sense that the weight of history that surrounds this trip is something that touches americans because so many have in their families and in their communities remembrances, if not direct lines to world war ii, so it is a setting which evokes perhaps a willingness to talk about issues like democracy. we know that the president is expected today to make that

comparison of 80 years ago these were ordinary young men from communities all around the country who were called to action and that today, although there isn't an active combat operation in which americans are called, that individual americans are called to recognize the threat to democracy. so i expect the president will try to put it in personal terms, that it's not just the sweeping ideas of democracy or the image of the united states, but it is a personal responsibility on the part of individual americans. so it is a window for the president to be able to talk about these issues, which resonate in a lot of the topics, a lot of the concerns and, yes, the election season back home, but they are larger than that, so appropriate for a world stage moment for the president where he is, in fact, the leader of the great power of the planet, the united states, and at the same time in that heated, difficult, contentious, and in some ways very unpredictable campaign season that we see at home so expect that

personalization to be one of the themes that plays out. >> and as he continues in his role as commander in chief and the world's greatest commander in many ways, what do we know, kelly, about his meeting with ukrainian president zelenskyy today at this pivotal moment, potentially in the russian ukraine invasion and war? >> by virtue of the nature of the ceremony that brought people together, this meeting included not only the president but the secretary of state, the defense secretary, so it was a robust meeting in the sense of the size of the two delegations to talk about the issues happening now. in part of that the president announced another tranche of support military aid, $225 million from the united states to ukraine. here's part of what the president had to say in his time with volodymyr zelenskyy. >> note going to walk away from you.

i apologize for the weeks of not knowing what's going to -- in terms of funding and because we had trouble getting the bill that we had to pass, had the money and some of our very conservative members were holding it up but we got it done finally. r. >> reporter: the president there referencing the issues on capitol hill. speaker johnson was able to move forward the aid to ukraine, the president was frustrated by that over a long period of time, so was president zelenskyy who has expressed concern about needing urgent aid now and in some ways needing capacities, capabilities from the u.s. that the u.s. has not provided. expect that there would be more of that deep dive into the ways that the u.s. can support ukraine and perhaps some of the

analysis of how russia is doing right now in its ongoing, unrelenting war on ukraine. ana. >> so colonel, the president presenting this $225 million aid package today in addition to his meeting directly with the president, meant to give a little bit of a boost or wind in his sails there, including the air defense interceptors, artillery, ammunition, and other capabilities. how crucial is this aid package right now? >> it's vitally important both for ukraine. it sounds like a cliche in that i guess it is because we use it all the time, but ukraine is in an existential conflict with -- >> and russia's been making more advances recently. >> they have at least partially for a wide variety of reasons. one of them is because there's been an insufficient amount of munitions and weapons been delivered to ukraine, so that has to keep up and the amount that you're talking about is just the beginning.

there's going to have to be a lot more delivered to ukraine, more capability delivered to ukraine. don't forget that you have -- in relative terms, you have a small country, ukraine fighting a very large country, and the difference in attitude matters a great deal. ukraine -- if they lose there is no ukraine. russia has absolutely nothing to lose, and don't forget it's run by a despot, and so everything that he says gets done. he doesn't have an electorate he has to deal with. he can do whatever he wants, and if what he wants is to destroy ukraine, the united states has to do everything it possibly can to prevent that from happening. don't forget we've got allies in the rest of europe who are also vitally concerned about the advancement of russia if we don't support ukraine, they're in big trouble too. >> david, putin has been witnessing dysfunction in washington as democrats and republicans argue over whether and how much aid to give

ukraine, what does this meeting today do to potentially address those issues? >> so i'm sure putin relished watching the disarray in washington in the six months when house republicans refused to provide the aid that ukraine needed so desperately. i was in ukraine in the time when that aid was being held up and remember talking to president zelenskyy about how he would have to retreat. he'd have to pull his troops back because he simply was running out of artillery and air defense munitions. those munitions are now arriving. they're coming to the front, just talking with a nato official last night, they're doing significant damage to the russians. the russian offensive on kharkiv, the city in the east that they appeared on the verge of trying to seize has slowed. russian ability to supply their

occupied crimea positions is now under greater stress. so president biden has a good story to tell if he can tell it forcefully today. he has been trying to stay the course often against a lot of opposition at home, but he has been consistent in saying we're with you. we'll get you what you need. he's just recently loosened the rules on what u.s. weapons can be used for in attacks inside russia itself, something he was very reluctant to do but he did it because he thought the ukrainians were endangered. i think it's one of those situations where making clear to americans why the stand matters, what's at risk for the united states, not in some abstract way but in real, tangible effects on our country. and then making that presentation as forcefully as he can. that's what he's got to do

today. >> we're just now getting a look, at least a glimpse at what he may say and how he'll lay out that message specifically. our peter alexander standing by there at pointe du hoc as we await the president's arrival. peter, what are we learning in these excerpts that were just released? >> reporter: well, ana, first, let's just take you to this venue. it is really one of the most stunning, breathtaking backdrops where a president could ever deliver remarks, certainly given the backdrop of the conflicts that we're witnessing today, most notably russia's aggression toward ukraine. as you note, we did just from the white house receive some excerpts of what president biden's expected to say in the next few minutes. he will say as we gather here today, it's not just to honor those who showed such remarkable bravery that day, june 6th, 1944. it's to listen to the echo of their voices, to hear them because they are summoning us, president biden will say. they're asking us what we will do. they're not asking us to scale

these cliffs. they're asking us to stay true to what america stands for. president biden today really trying to capture some of that rhetorical magic that president reagan was able to create during those remarks 40 years ago. on that day there were more than 60 army rangers in attendance. today just one, one of the last surviving rangers from what was one of the most daring and dangerous missions of world war ii, john wardell, then a 19-year-old private first class from new jersey, today a 99-year-old arriving seated in the front row with a blanket over his legs in his wheelchair, just a remarkable setting and obviously as you've been speaking about, there are the geopolitical backdrop to this, which is so critical. the president expected to deliver that forceful defense of democracy today, but also to try to put a human face on this experience. to give you a sense of where we are as you look at the cliffs behind us here, these sheer

98 foot cliffs, nearly 100 foot cliffs that those army rangers scaled on that day before taking over this lookout that had been used by the nazis. the americans taking it over, and as a function of that able to protect the d-day beach landings at omaha and utah beaches that frame where we are standing right now. and if i were to be able to flip the camera around, there's too many others to show you. i can show you the pockmarked landscape here where the american and allied war planes bombed this area to try to soften up the territory before their arrival on this day. i got to tell you, ana, i've been to a lot of stunning and unique places, but this is one of the most powerful backdrops i've ever experienced. >> it is powerful. it's beautiful, and it's also been so powerful to see those veterans who have been on site at many of the events in the last couple of days commemorating d-day and their service, sacrifice, and courage that that they showed that day now so long ago, 80 years ago.

peter alexander, kelly o'donnell, david ignatius, mark updegrove, colonel jack jacobs. everyone please stay close as we bring you the president's remarks live there from france as soon as they begin. we're also covering several other stories this morning, donald trump's former chief of staff mark meadows being arraigned in arizona today. the charges he's facing. plus, what president biden said when he was asked about pardoning his son hunter. we're back after a very short break. stay close. very short break. stay close ♪ is why i'm delaying ♪ ♪ i heard i had a choice ♪ ♪ i know the name, that's what i'm saying ♪ -cologuard®? -cologuard. cologuard! -screen for colon cancer. -at home, like you want. -you the man! -actually, he's a box. cologuard is a one-of-a-kind way to screen for colon cancer that's effective and non-invasive. it's for people 45+ at average risk, not high risk. false positive and negative results may occur. ask your provider for cologuard. ♪ i did it my way ♪

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we are back with a live look there at pointe du hoc in france where president biden is expected to speak any minute in a speech to mark the 80th anniversary of the normandy landings with a special focus on the fight for democracy and how what happened back then still resonates today, and you can see members of the president's cabinet arriving. there's the defense secretary lloyd austin, antony blinken, the secretary of state also in attendance, and former secretary of state john kerry has arrived as well among those hearing the president's speech live at the cliffs there in normandy. and we'll keep an eye as soon as the president heads-up to give his speech, we will take you back there. but first, the latest from the federal courthouse in wilmington, delaware, where prosecutors expect to rest their gun case against the president's son hunter biden today. yesterday the jury heard

dramatic testimony from star witness hallie biden, the widow of hunter's brother beau who had a relationship with hunter after beau's death, and she detailed hunter's drug use, how he introduced her to drugs and explained why she threw out his gun. let's go to the courthouse and nbc's mike memoli. mike, the prosecutors say they should finish today, and then the defense says it could be done by monday. so what do prosecutors have left, and what do we know about the defense witnesses? >> reporter: yeah, ana, after that emotional at times difficult testimony yesterday from hallie biden the prosecution is wrapping things up with expert and technical witnesses. hearing from a chemist who is describing discovering some drug residue on the pouch in which the gun was found and thrown into the garbage, and now a dea agent who is talking about some of the lingo that was used in text messages from hunter biden that suggests that he was trying to purchase and purchasing illegal drugs. then the prosecution says it will wrap and the focus turns to

the defense witnesses. the defense attorney abbe lowell indicating that he would call naomi biden. she used the car that the gun was found in on the day prior to it being discovered. we may hear from one of the president's brothers who is a mentor of sorts to hunter biden, suggesting the need potentially here forsome character witness as well. one of the questions is will we hear from hunter biden himself. that has not been ruled out f. we do, that would be on monday before we could hear closing arguments from both sides as this case moves to the finish line. >> quickly, president biden was asked about the possibility of pardoning his son yesterday. what did he say? >> reporter: yeah, as we see the president obviously undergoing his significant overseas trip. we know he's been very focused still asking aides for updates about his son's trial at home. as the president of the united states, he does have the pardon power. he could spare his son of this, and he was asked whether he might do that in that interview. let's listen to his answer. >> as we sit here in normandy,

your son hunter is on trial, and i know that you cannot speak about an ongoing federal prosecution, but let me ask you will you accept the jury's outcome, their verdict no matter what it is? >> yes. >> and have you ruled out a pardon for your son? >> yes. >> reporter: one of the things the entire biden family is wrestling with, if president biden had not run for office, if he was not running for a second term, would hunter biden be going through this ordeal, that's why we've seen that blanket of support from friends and family being present for this trial. remarkably the first lady of the united states again in court this morning after flying overnight from france where she was with her husband for those d-day commemorations. she'll be getting back on a plane to fly across the atlantic one more time after today's trial proceedings to join him for that state dinner over the weekend. >> thanks so much for that update. turning now to arizona where donald trump's former white house chief of staff mark meadows is due in court to be

arraigned on charges for his role in the state's fake elector scheme in 2020. he's accused of conspiracy, fraud, and forgery. joining us now nbc news correspondent vaughn hillyard in phoenix, and former federal prosecutor kristy greenberg. vaughn, walk us through what we can expect today and the charges against mark meadows. >> reporter: right, ana, we're looking at a virtual arraignment. this is going to be similar to two weeks ago when rudy giuliani and a majority of the other 18 co-defendants here stemming from that indictment were arraigned. this is the moment for mark meadows and micro man, the election day operations man. these are -- for them this is the initial step of their process here. so far each of the defendants has pleaded not guilty. there's still going to be three defendants who will be going through their arraignment processes later this month. for the case of michael roman,

this follows just three days after he was charged in wisconsin as well for his role in the alleged fake electors scheme. of course he's also facing as is mark meadows those charges in georgia as well here, and so in the state of arizona, it is not exactly clear how quickly the proceedings will play out in the state, but for mark meadows and for mike roman, they are the latest to go through their arraignment. we'll wait for each of these individuals to go through the formal booking process where they'll have to come to go through the mug shot and fingerprinting here. that can come at a later time. >> vaughn hillyard, thank you. kristy, just how serious are these charges meadows is facing? >> they're very serious. he's charged with committingfor conspiracy. in looking at the indictment, it's 58 pages. mark meadows is really the nerve center of all of this. you have a pressure campaign on the maricopa county board of

supervisors and all of the text messages about that pressure campaign are going back to mark meadows. the same with the fake elector scheme. all of the text messages from various co-conspirators all reporting back to mark meadows about their progress, about how this scheme would work. you've got mark meadows saying i love it. right before in the indictment, all of that is laid out, there is a very clear statement that mark meadows knew that donald trump lost this election and still wanted to bring it home for donald trump because donald trump still wanted to fight it. so it's a powerful indictment, and he should be worried about these charges. >> and as vaughn mentioned, he is facing charges in multiple venues, not just arizona, but he's a co-defendant in the georgia case as well. meantime, a d.c. court yesterday ordered former trump aide steve bannon to report to prison on july 1st after he was convicted of contempt of congress, of course. bannon said he's going to challenge this all the way to the supreme court. do you think he'll be able to stay out of prison? >> no. he is going to prison on july

1st. so the d.c. circuit opinion, it's 20 pages. it's very detailed, and it's very strong in terms of both the law and the facts. so i don't see the entire d.c. circuit getting involved in this, nor do i see the supreme court taking this up. as a legal matter, all they had to show was that he intentionally and deliberately ignored a subpoena, and so steve bannon's attempts to say, well, i relied on a lawyer, that's not available under this statute, and there's very clear law to that effect. and the d.c. circuit said we're not going to set aside that law because you want us to. and even on the facts, his statements that, well, donald trump said and authorized me not to comply with this system, the record suggests otherwise, and in any event, even if you had some privilege, you got to show up and assert that privilege and object and then there's a legal process. he didn't do that. he's going to jail. >> trump called it an american tragedy that biden must report to prison. your thoughts? >> well, it's an american tragedy that a former president has no respect for the law.

this was a trial that happened two years ago in july of 2022, a jury found steve bannon to be guilty. a judge sentenced him to four months in prison. he's now had his appeals process. it's time for him to face the music. >> you think about the allies of trump who are now facing legal trouble, and michael cohen, obviously he just testified in donald trump's hush money case. he's served his own time behind bars. he was on last week and said this. >> so in 2018 you may remember -- >> i remember. >> i testified before the house oversight committee and it was live. i turned and i looked at mark meadows and i said i know what you're doing. i know the playbook that you're trying to run because i wrote it. and look what's happening to me, in a few weeks i'm going to prison. i strongly suggest you think before you keep acting the way that you are, and he didn't listen and now look what happened now to mark meadows.

same thing. >> kristy, now we're seeing the legal consequences to mark meadows, to steve bannon, what do you make of that prediction? >> well, he was right. i mean, look, i think it is so important that these lawsuits happen now because we could be seeing this yet again in november of 2024, so putting all of the enablers, all of the people who are going to help donald trump potentially again in 2024 having them be facing charges, maybe they will think twice. the point of these charges in large part is deterrence, to stop people from just blatantly disregarding the law when it comes to the next election. >> kristy greenberg, as always, thank you so much. coming up, we're still keeping our eye on pointe du hoc in france where president biden is set to speak about democracy any moment now. we'll bring you that live. plus, donald trump held his first campaign event post-conviction yesterday in phoenix, and he had a lot to say. you're watching "ana cabrera reports." we're back in a moment. reports. we're back in a moment and unforgettable scenery with viking.

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we're going to see the president only a short time from now. i want to show you what we witnessed only a matter of moments ago, the president upon his arrival doing a flyover above these sheer cliffs nearly 100 feet in total, an opportunity to see from the sky what those brave army rangers faced as they had to scale those cliffs to overtake these artillery positions controlled by the nazis during d-day. it is really a stunning place here, the president seeing it from there, he'll be able to speak to those gathered dignitaries in attendance a short time from now. as we noted among those who will be here is one of the last surviving rangers and here i hear the introduction, they're announcing joe biden, we're going to show you as he starts to walk this direction. the president trying to capture some of the same patriotic themes as a conservative counterpart of his, ronald reagan did at this very same site back in 1984. let's take a watch.

♪♪ ♪♪ >> peter, as we watch the president walking toward that microphone, do we know who he is with there? >> reporter: let me walk you through what we're seeing right there. the president just stopping on the gravel path here in front of one of the german bunkers that was used on that day. those on the ground here at this memorial site tell me that when the nazi germans had cleared out of this area anticipating an attack, they painted some of the telephone poles black so when the american war planes flew overhead, they would believe

that those were -- that those were artillery weapons preparing to fire on them to try to disguise the fact that some of them had departed at that time. you can see the media riser there in the foreground. that is an entrance to a separate bunker right on this lookout here that the president the's about to approach. what's stunning as you look around here is that there are just truly dozens of these giant holes, these pits in the ground where they were pounded by american and allied war planes to try to soften the nazi defenses in advance of their arrival here. stunningly, 40 years ago when president reagan delivered what was perhaps one of the most iconic d-day focused speeches in american presidential history, there were 62 army rangers in attendance. today just one will be here as the president prepares to pass by us. >> and peter, we can hear some of the audio from other reporters who i know are really, really close to you as you're

all packed into that media area, preparing for listening to the president's remarks as he continues to make his way on those hallowed grounds up to the microphone, and we're told this walk should take about a couple minutes altogether. it looks like he's quite close now. we did get some excerpts from his upcoming speech in which he said when we talk about democracy, american democracy, we often talk big ideas like life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. what we don't talk about enough is how hard it is. and so those remarks expected in just moments from president biden who, as you can see, just paused for a moment there in front of those wreaths and now let's listen in. >> please welcome the 46th president of the united states of america, joe biden. >> john, how are you?

please, sit down. >> at last the hour had come, dawn, 6th of june, 1944. the wind was pounding as it is today and always has against these cliffs. 225 american rangers arrived by ship, jumped into the waves and stormed the beach. they could see -- all they could see is the outline of the shore and the enormity of these cliffs, and i'd like to -- i know i'll get in trouble with the secret service if i go to the edge and look over, but think of those cliffs as my hostess have showed me, that's what we're standing on top of. they could hear -- all they could hear was the crack of bullets hitting ships, sand, rocks hitting everything. all they knew was time was of the essence. they had only 30 minutes, 30

minutes to eliminate the nazi guns high on this cliff. guns that could halt the allied invasion before it even began. but these were american rangers. they were ready. they ran toward the cliffs and mines planted on the beach by field marshall romel exploded around them, but still they kept coming. gunfire rained above them, but still they kept coming. nazi grenades thrown from above exploded against the cliffs, but still they kept coming. within minutes they reached the base of this cliff. they launched their ladders, their ropes and grappling hooks and they began to climb, when the nazis cut their ladders, the rangers used the ropes. when the nazis cut their ropes, the rangers used their hands,

and inch by inch, foot by foot, yard by yard, the rangers clawed, literally clawed their way up this mighty precipice until at last they reached the top. they breached the atlantic wall and they turned in that one effort the tide of the war and began to save the world. ladies and gentlemen, yesterday i paid my respects at the american cemetery just a few miles from here where many of those rangers died were buried. i i spoke about what the fallen had done to defend freedom. today as we look out at this battlefield and all the bunkers and bomb craters that are still surrounded, one thought comes to mind, my god, my god, how did they do it? how were these americans willing to risk everything, dare

everything, and giving everything. there were americans like sergeant leonard -- sergeant leonard lomo from new jersey. he was one of the first rangers to jump off a ship and run toward the cliff. he almost was shot right above the hip initially, and he wasn't sure but he was. he kept going. at one point he was scaling the cliff and another ranger yelled, i'm not sure i can make it, and he yelled back, with every ounce of strength he had in him, you've got to hold on, and he did and they did. americans like sergeant tom rogerio from massachusetts, a german shell hit his boat as he approached the shore. everything exploded. the sergeant was knocked into the freezing water, and as he told it, he began to utter a prayer, dear god, don't let me drown. i want to get in and do what i

am here and supposed to do. americans like colonel james rudder, texas. when the military asked for a battalion for this mission, he raised his hand and said, my rangers can do the job. he knew their capacity. he knew the strength of their character, and a few days after they scaled this cliff, he wrote a condolence letter to a mother of one of the rangers who gave his life here. and that letter said a country must be great to call for the sacrifice of such men. a country must be great to call for the sacrifice of such men. and americans like john wardell from new jersey, john is here. john, we love you, man. thank you for all you've done. [ applause ] deserved that and a lot more,

john. just 18 years old, he deployed to this cliff to replace the surviving rangers on that d-day invasion. he would go on to fight across france and germany and early december 1944 during one of those battles, shrapnel pierced his skull. but by christmas he was back fighting with his unit, and here's what he said about the notes he kept at that time. he said knowing that my buddies and i always looked out for one another, that's why he came back. that's why he fought so hard to get back. he always looked out and his buddies looked out for one another. we talk about democracy, american democracy. we often talk about the ideals of life, liberty, pursuit of happiness. what we don't talk about is how hard it is, how many ways we're asked to walk away. how many instincts are to walk away. the most natural instinct is to walk away, to be selfish, to

force our will upon others, to seize power and never give up. american democracy asks the hardest of things, to believe, to require something bigger than ourselves. so democracy begins with each of us. it begins when one person decides there's something more important than themselves. when they decide the person they're serving alongside of is someone to look after, when they decide the mission matters more than their life, when they decide that their country matters more than they they do. that's what the rangers at pointe du hoc did. that's what they decided. that's what every soldier, every marine who stormed this beach decided. a feared dictator had conquered a continent, had finally met his match, because of them, the war turned. they stood against hitler's

aggression. does anyone doubt -- does anyone doubt that they would want america to stand up against putin's aggression here in europe today? they stormed the beaches alongside our allies. does anyone believe these rangers would want america to go it alone today? they fought to vanquish hateful ideology, the '30s and '40s. does anyone doubt they wouldn't move heaven and earth to vanquish hateful ideologies of today? these rangers put mission and country above themselves. does anyone believe they would exact any less from any american today? these rangers remember, with reverence, those who gave their lives in battle. could they or anyone ever imagine that america would do the same, wouldn't do the same? they believed america was a beacon to the world.

i'm certain they believe that it would be that way forever. you know, we stand today where we stand was not sacred on june 5th. that's what it became on june the 6th. the rangers who scaled this cliff didn't know they would change the world. but they did. i long said history has shown that ordinary americans can do extraordinary things when challenged. there is no better example of that in the entire world than right here at pointe du hoc. rangers from farms and cities, every part of america, from homes that didn't know wealth and power, they came to a shoreline and none of them would have picked out on a map. they came to a country, many of them had never seen, for a people they had never met. but they came. they did their job.

they fulfilled their mission. and they did their duty. they're a part of something greater than themselves. they were americans. i stand here today as the first president to come to pointe du hoc when none of those 225 brave men who scaled this cliff on d-day are still alive. none. but i'm here to tell you that with them gone, the wind coming off this ocean will not fade. it will grow louder as we gather here today. it is not just to honor those who showed such remarkable bravery on that day, june 6th, 1944, it is to listen to the echoes of their voices, to hear them, because they are summoning us and summoning us now. they ask us what will we do? they're not asking us to scale these cliffs.

but they're asking us to stay true to what america stands for. they're not asking us to give or risk our lives. but they are asking us to care for others in our country more than ourselves. they're not asking us to do their job. they're asking us to do our job. to protect freedom in our time. to defend democracy. to stand up aggression abroad and at home, to be part of something bigger than ourselves. my fellow americans, i refuse to believe, i simply refuse to believe that america's greatness is a thing of the past. i still believe there is nothing beyond our capacity in america, when we act together. we're the fortunate heirs of the legacy of these heroes, those who scaled the cliffs of pointe du hoc must also be the keepers of their mission, the keepers of

their mission, the bearers of the flames of freedom that they kept burning bright. that, that is the truest testimonial to their lives. our actions every day to ensure that our democracy endures and the soul of our nation endures. to come here, simply to remember the ghosts of pointe du hoc isn't enough. we need to hear them. we have to listen to them. we need to listen to what they had. we need to make a solemn vow to never let them down. god bless the fallen. god bless the brave men who scaled these cliffs. may got god protect our troops. god bless america. ♪♪ >> president biden just delivering remarks from pointe du hoc, france, the cliffs of normandy. really poignant moment for the

world, 80 years ago, and potentially pivotal moment for this president, president biden, as he now ends that part of his overseas trip, back with us is nbc's peter alexander, pointe du hoc, france. nbc news military analyst colonel jack jacobs and presidential historian mark updegrove. we see the president on scene there, speaking with members of his cabinet, and shaking the hands, taking a moment to address one of the veterans who showed up for this speech today. somebody who he brought up in those remarks. >> and is the only world war ii era veteran -- >> that's exactly right. you saw the president shaking the hand of the private first class john wardle, then just an 18-year-old young army ranger, now 98 years young. he wasn't a part of the 225 rangers who stormed those cliffs and this position on d-day,

arriving a matter of days later, which is why the president says none of the rangers from that day are still living. you see him saluting some of those in attendance. mr. president, this is quite a stunning spot, is it not, sir? have you ever seen anything like that before? thank you. >> mr. president, what is the message -- >> had a chance to speak to the president quickly, brief exchange, if he's seen anything like the sheer cliffs here. he said he's been here before, but it is always overwhelming to witness those cliffs and the bravery, the courage, the commitment of the rangers who arrived at this place. the president really trying to harness the heroism of that day to make a key -- deliver a key message about the need for americans today to help support the fight for freedom and democracy. ana? >> spoke about the choice, the decision that those army rangers

made 80 years ago to fight for democracy, to stand up to tyranny, saying these rangers put mission and country above themselves. these rangers who scaled these cliffs didn't know they would change the world, but they did is what we just heard president biden say. mark, this place where he delivered this speech is so special to multiple administrations, to the world, to this country, the united states of america. what stood out to you in those remarks? >> well, certainly the dramatic background there. it is so stunning, it is so beautiful, it is almost difficult to summon words that are as dramatic and as beautiful as the setting itself. i think the president did an admirable job. what stuck out to me, ana, is when he said that we talk about liberty and democracy, what we don't talk about is how hard it is, and i think that's the difficult task that president

biden has now, talking about why we need to preserve democracy and freedom at a time when authoritarianism and totalitarianism and isolationism is on the rise in the world. colonel jacobs talked earlier about the fact that we were isolationists before the war. it took the bombing of pearl harbor to draw us into the war. nine out of every ten americans were resistant to the idea of intervening in world war ii before that. so, joe biden at this time has to show an important reason for america to continue to be engaged in the world and i think he did a good job today, ana. >> colonel jack, we talked about how your father served during world war ii. he was among those who were resistant to engage, but ultimately you say after many, many years, he felt incredible pride for being part of that shared mission. >> we have to remember, we had something like 19 or 20 million people in uniform during the

second world war. my father was studying electrical engineering at the university of minnesota when he was summarily dragooned into the army, eight weeks from graduation. sent off to the pacific to fight in the -- with the army in new fwin y guinea in the philippines. hated getting dragged out of school, hated the army, hated getting shot at, got out of the army, the instant he could when the war was over, and yet when he got to be my age, all he would talk about was how proud he was in having saved the world. >> having saved the world. >> he and his generation had done exactly that. >> and so now today, president biden calling on this generation, the next generation to uphold what those generations before did, dating back 80 years ago, d-day, the turning point in world war ii. that's going to do it for us today. thank you so much for being part of our coverage this morning. jose diaz-balart picks up our coverage right now.