On the Sands of Omaha Beach: A Trip to Normandy and D-Day Reflections

Pete Hegseth warns of boat migrants and ‘dangerous ideologies’ during D-Day speech

“Beaches in Spain and Italy and Greece and Bulgaria. Boats and men arrive,” Hegseth said.

A Day in the Lie (I read the news today, oh boy)

I was beginning to wonder lately if I was unduly harsh in my evaluation of Trump as a do-nothing talentless twit. Because when I look back over the 501 days (as I write this) since Trump re-insinuated himself into the Oval Office, and I contemplate the wreckage that used to be the country of my… The post A Day in the Lie (I read the news today, oh boy) appeared first on Palmer Report.

On D-Day, Trump is bribing military officers so he can retain power indefinitely

Friends,Today is the 82nd anniversary of D-Day — the Allied invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944. It’s referred to as “D-Day” after the military term for a day when a secret combat attack or operation is planned.It was the largest seaborne invasion in history. It began the Western Allied effort to liberate western Europe from Nazi Germany.Over 2,500 American soldiers, sailors, and airmen were killed during the initial amphibious assaults and airborne operations. All told, there were 4,414 confirmed Allied deaths on the first day of the invasion, which also included troops from the United Kingdom and Canada.At the time of the invasion, my father was 30 years old, in a tank battalion readying to go to Europe. My mother was 25, working in a factory producing gas masks for the war. Some of their friends participated in the invasion. A few were paratroopers. Others were pilots. Others were soldiers.As a small boy, I remember trying to talk with my father and my mother about D-Day. I wanted stories. The little I’d heard about it made it seem romantic and exciting. But they were reluctant to talk about it. They answered my questions in short sentences. Their voices were hurried. It was as if I was trying to open a door they’d rather keep closed. They had lost friends, relatives. D-Day, and the war it helped end, had left deep scars.Eventually they and their generation were called America’s “greatest generation” for their valor and sacrifice. They had fought fascism and won.Now, 82 years later, we have home-grown fascism. An entire political party seems to have given up on democracy. They’re supporting an ego-maniacal “strong man” who cares only about enlarging his own (and his family’s) wealth and power.His regime is marked by a degree of corruption, cruelty, and criminality never before witnessed in America’s national government.Trump’s and his “war” secretary, Pete Hegseth’s firing of so many top brass can be seen as a way to guarantee the loyalty of other officers to Trump rather than to America. Trump’s proposal to increase the U.S. military budget by nearly 50 percent can be understood as a bribe to officers. He wants them to side with him, if and when he tries to stay in power indefinitely.He has already tried to turn much of America into a police state.Public support for him is waning, and the federal courts have fought back. But it is startling and saddening how far Trump and his regime have gotten.What happened to the bravery and dedication of the greatest generation? What became of the sacrifices my parents and their peers made so that this nation could be free?How and why did so many Americans succumb to neofascism?I think it has to do with the anger so many Americans have felt that they and their children haven’t been able to get ahead, no matter how hard they work. Trump and other neofascists have channeled that anger toward immigrants, gays, transgendered people, Muslims, and Black people.Democrats and progressives should be channeling that anger toward the real culprits — a wealthy elite that’s used their money to gain political power and rig the economy to their benefit and against everyone else.Another reason so many have succumbed to Trumpian neofascism is the passage of time. Eighty-two years is long enough for a nation to forget, especially a nation whose collective memory is short to begin with. Very few living Americans remember the terror and heroism of our fight against Nazi fascism. The greatest generation has mostly died off.But we must not forget. Fascism is being born again, in America and in Europe. This time it’s masquerading as white Christian nationalism, but it’s as dangerous as ever.The best way to remember and honor the men and women who risked everything for us is to fight neofascism — fight for a stronger democracy, fight for the rule of law and social justice, fight against bigotry.Robert Reich is an emeritus professor of public policy at Berkeley and former secretary of labor. His writings can be found at https://robertreich.substack.com/. His new memoir, Coming Up Short, can be found wherever you buy books. You can also support local bookstores nationally by ordering the book at bookshop.org

Trump said to be 'not well' after self-serving D-Day posts: 'Not a word about heroes'

President Donald Trump enraged onlookers by spending the 82nd anniversary of D-Day flooding Truth Social with AI-generated videos glorifying himself — riding a camel through a desert, skydiving with a red parachute, walking through cheering crowds in New York — while posting nothing about the soldiers who stormed the beaches of Normandy on June 6, 1944.The backlash from analysts was swift."It's D-Day. Trump's first post on Truth Social is a bizarre AI video about how much people love Donald Trump," Republicans Against Trump wrote Saturday morning. "Not a word about the heroes who stormed the beaches of Normandy. That tells you everything you need to know about Trump."As the hours passed without any acknowledgment from the Commander in Chief, the group posted updates. "Still no mention of D-Day from Trump." Then, near the end of the day: "It's almost 5 p.m. on D-Day. The Commander in Chief still hasn't said a word about it. Disgraceful."What Trump did post included an AI image mocking the Obama Presidential Center as a garbage can surrounded by a tent city, a transphobic AI collage targeting Rosie O'Donnell, an attack on a federal judge blocking his White House drone port, and multiple videos apparently designed to show the world how beloved he is.Political commentator Molly Ploofkins put it plainly: "Trump marks the D-Day anniversary by glorifying himself with AI slop."Spanish journalist Carlos Montero, whose post was translated from Spanish, was more blunt: "This man is not well! Commemorating D-Day, in which the anniversary of the Normandy Landings is celebrated, Trump posts this video."Others skipped the commentary and went clinical. "Malignant narcissism is a severe, destructive form of narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) characterized by grandiosity, a total lack of empathy, antisocial behavior, and sadism," one widely-shared post read, posted beneath a screenshot of Trump's AI skydiving video.Trump marks the D-Day anniversary by glorifying himself with AI slop pic.twitter.com/GCLVCQI7PE— Molly Ploofkins (@Mollyploofkins) June 6, 2026

Hegseth Calls Out Mass Migration and Endangering the D-Day Heroes’ Legacy

Trump Administration, U.S. Military Celebrate D-Day Anniversary

Hegseth Remembers Those Who Fought During 82nd D-Day Commemoration at Normandy

The Guns Were Gone at Pointe du Hoc on D-Day, So the Rangers Went Looking