Trump visit: Emmanuel Macron says US ‘is never so great as when it fights for universal values’ in pointed D-Day speech

Donald Trump will tell gathered dignitaries that American and allied forces who stormed the beaches of Normandy "won back this ground for civilization", as he marks the 75th anniversary of D-Day.

The president will meet other world leaders at The Normandy American Cemetery to honor those who died and participated in the battle that turned the course of the war. 

The US leader will describe the 130,000 troops who participated in the invasion as the "citizens of free and independent nations, united by their duty to their compatriots and to millions yet unborn." 

He will also assure allies that "our bond is unbreakable."

Mr Trump will also say the exceptional might of the troops at D-Day came from an exceptional spirit.

Pro-Brexit politician Nigel Farage has claimed Donald Trump is “better prepared” for a post-Europe Britain than prime minister Theresa May writes Andrew Buncombe.

As Mr Trump wrapped up a three-day state visit to Britain and travelled to Ireland to meet Irish president Leo Varadkar, Mr Farage said he had noticed the level of preparation already being made by the US for once Britain leaves Europe.

“What I was struck by was how serious they are about this and [their] preparation,” he told The Independent. “They seem to have done a lot more thinking about this than we have.”

Read more here:

Donald and Melania Trump were photographed leaving Shannon airport in Ireland earlier this morning.

The president said they were "heading over to Normandy to celebrate some of the bravest that ever lived," in a post published on Twitter while Air Force One was en route to France.

"We are eternally grateful!" Mr Trump added.

Donald and Melania Trump have arrived at the Normandy American Cemetery Landing Zone in France, ahead of the 75th D-Day anniversary commemorations.

"Today, we remember those who fell here, and we honor all who fought here. They won back this ground for civilization," the US president is expected to say while visiting an American war cemetery near one of the Normandy landing beaches.

Donald and Melania Trump have landed in Caen, western France.

"The exceptional might came from an exceptional spirit," Mr Trump is expected to say, in praise of the troops who served at D-Day.

"The abundance of courage came from an abundance of faith. The great deeds of our Army came from the great depths of their love." 

World leaders and D-Day veterans have gathered in France to mark the 75th anniversary of the Allied invasion of Normandy.

Prince Charles, his wife Camilla and Theresa May are attending a service of remembrance in Bayeux, the first Normandy town liberated by Allied troops after D-Day. 

“[It was] one of the pivotal events of the Second World War and is...being commemorated across Europe,” writes Joe Sommerlad.

“The assault on the beaches of northern France by British, American, Canadian and Free French troops on D-Day was the largest amphibious operation ever attempted and enabled the Western Allies crossing the English Channel from Portsmouth to gain an important foothold from which to commence its pushback against Nazi Germany.”

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Donald and Melania Trump have arrived at a US war cemetery above Omaha Beach in Colleville-sur-Mer.

They will attend a commemorative ceremony along the stretch of coast where more than 150,000 troops landed on five beaches during the 1944 Allied invasion.

The president will will watch Emmanuel Macron award the Legion d'Honneur, France's highest award for merit, to five US veterans before the two leaders leave for a working lunch in the nearby town of Caen.

The commemorations come against the backdrop of two years of forthright diplomacy and "America First" policymaking by Mr Trump.

Donald Trump spent three days in the UK, meeting politicians and royals and discussing the chances of a UK-US trade deal.

"[He] is clear that the US and UK will agree a “phenomenal trade deal” and Downing Street has also spoken positively about an agreement – it is the main reason a state visit invitation was extended to the White House," argues our columnist Chris Stevenson.

"But amid all the bluster about whether the NHS is on the table, off the table or even something Donald Trump remotely recognises, one fact remains: it is the issue of the Irish border that will likely decide the fate of a US-UK trade deal."

Read his column here:

Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron have arrived for the commemorative ceremony at the Normandy American Cemetery.

Melania Trump is also at the event, arriving at the cemetery with Brigitte Macron, the French president's wife.

The two presidents will enter bilateral talks following the ceremony.

"We're going... to Normandy, and it's going to be something really special," Mr Trump said, while speaking to reporters before travelling from Ireland to France. 

"I think it's going to be an incredible, special day in a very special and very important place," he said about the D-Day commemorations.

"So I look forward to that."