Meaningful D-Day speech does not align with president

As I watched President Donald Trump speak at the 75th anniversary of D-Day ceremony in France, I concluded that “hypocrisy on parade” is an appropriate characterization of his speech and appearance there (June 6, “World Leaders Honor D-Day Veterans at Moving Ceremony”).

The president uttered meaningful and magnificent words that were obviously written for him by a gifted speechwriter. He spoke of the sacrifice of the heroes who fought and died on the beaches of Normandy and the Allied forces that defeated evil in an uncertain and frightening time in which victory was by no means assured.

Did Mr. Trump absorb what he was saying? Did his words reflect his views? No and no.

As he has expressed admiration and respect for ruthless dictators like Kim Jong Un, Vladimir Putin, the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia and Hungary’s Viktor Orban, the president has slapped in the face our allies in Mexico, Canada, Great Britain, France and Germany. He has sought to weaken or kill the NATO by withdrawing support for it. Even after his death, Mr. Trump has derided former Sen. John McCain, a bona fide war hero, not the “loser” that Mr. Trump shamefully labeled him.

With whom would Mr. Trump have sided in World War II? I am not sure. If the emperor of Japan, Adolf Hitler or Benito Mussolini had flattered Mr. Trump on the international stage and denied their evil intent, it would be reasonable to conclude that the president would accept what they had said, and set aside what his intelligence services were telling him, as he has done with Mr. Putin and the crown prince. Perhaps he would exchange “beautiful letters” and would “fall in love” with the dictators as he told us he has done with Mr. Kim.

I thank God that Franklin D. Roosevelt was president during World War II. Had Mr. Trump been our leader at that time, our world would quite likely be under the grip of totalitarianism.

OREN SPIEGLER South Strabane