President Trump honored the nation’s fallen heroes on Memorial Day as embodying the country’s fighting spirit and declared that Americans are the “captains of their own fate” who will rise to the occasion again to defeat the COVID-19 pandemic.
“As one nation, we mourn alongside every single family who has lost loved ones, including the families of our great veterans. Together, we will vanquish the virus and America will rise from this crisis to new and even greater heights,” Mr. Trump said in a speech at Fort McHenry in Baltimore.
He delivered the speech as the country approached a grim milestone of nearly 100,000 deaths from COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus that has swept the globe since its discovery in Wuhan, China, in December.
More than 345,000 deaths worldwide are attributed to COVID-19.
“As our brave warriors have shown us from the nation’s earliest days, America is the captain of its own fate,” the president said. “No obstacle, no challenge and no threat is a match for the sheer determination of the American people.”
The dramatic shutdowns of daily human activities and imposition of social distancing rules, which have left the economy in ruins, colored Memorial Day events.
Ceremonies honoring the fallen looked very different this year.
Arlington National Cemetery, where Mr. Trump participated in a wreath-laying ceremony before traveling to Baltimore, was closed to the public under stay-at-home orders.
At Baltimore’s Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine, the roughly 200 people attending the event were spaced several feet apart and most wore masks.
Flags flew at half-staff at the White House and across the country to honor those who have died from COVID-19.
Democrats have been critical of Mr. Trump’s handling of the crisis and his push to reopen state economies.
Almost 39 million Americans have lost their jobs in the past nine weeks from government-mandated business closures. The president and Congress have spent nearly $3 trillion on relief measures.
Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer of New York and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California led a group of fellow Democratic leaders Monday in blasting the president’s response to the public health emergency.
“After six months and nearly 100,000 lives lost, the Trump administration still does not have a serious plan for increasing testing to stop the spread of the virus,” they said in a joint statement. “This disappointing report confirms that President Trump’s national testing strategy is to deny the truth that there aren’t enough tests and supplies, reject responsibility and dump the burden onto the states.”
Meanwhile, some Americans in California, Illinois and other states used the Memorial Day weekend to protest the lockdowns, which are easing across the country but have not returned economies or activities to normal.
Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joseph R. Biden made his first in-person appearance in two months by laying a wreath at a veterans park near his home in Wilmington, Delaware. The former vice president has been campaigning virtually from his home since the stay-at-home orders were issued in mid-March.
Unlike the president, Mr. Biden wore a face mask when he went out on Memorial Day. Mr. Trump has bucked health professionals’ advice to wear face coverings while in public.
In his Fort McHenry speech, Mr. Trump praised members of the military who have helped tend to the sick during the pandemic.
“Once again, the men and women of the United States military have answered the call to duty and raced into danger,” the president said.
At Arlington National Cemetery, Mr. Trump placed a ceremonial wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. He did not make any public remarks at the cemetery, but the event was punctuated by booming gunfire in a military salute.
First lady Melania Trump attended the ceremony with Vice President Mike Pence and his wife, Karen. Also present were several members of the president’s Cabinet, including Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Though the cemetery is closed to the public, families have been allowed to enter and attend burials there and at other military cemeteries.
“We will return our cemeteries to full use very shortly, and it is a tragedy in one sense that we haven’t been allowed to bring masses of the American people into our cemeteries, but as long as our families are allowed to go, that’s the most important part of what we do,” Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie told Fox News.
The president made his afternoon appearance at Fort McHenry while Baltimore remained under a stay-at-home order.
Mayor Bernard C. “Jack” Young had urged the president not to visit because nonessential travel is discouraged during the pandemic and it would send the wrong message. He also noted the expense the president’s visit would cost Baltimore.
Some demonstrators in Baltimore over the weekend drove cars with signs saying Mr. Trump shouldn’t visit.
The president went ahead and appeared at the national monument where U.S. troops defended the fort against the British during the War of 1812, inspiring Francis Scott Key to write “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
Mr. Trump detailed stories of veterans who fearlessly defended the country and the sacrifices of many American families.
“God bless the memory of the fallen,” the president said, which was welcomed with applause from the audience.
“We come together to salute the flag they gave their lives to so boldly and brilliantly defend,” the president said. “This majestic flag will proudly fly forever.”
• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.
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