バイデン・ハリス両氏、戦没者追悼行事で同席　大統領選敗北後初めて

【アーリントンＡＦＰ＝時事】ジョー・バイデン米大統領は１１日、首都ワシントン近郊のアーリントン国立墓地で開かれた「退役軍人の日」の式典にカマラ・ハリス副大統領とそろって出席し、最高司令官として国民に仕えたのは「最大の名誉だった」と述べた。（写真は、米首都ワシントン近郊のアーリントン国立墓地で「退役軍人の日」の式典に臨むジョー・バイデン大統領とカマラ・ハリス副大統領）
　２人が一緒に公の場に姿を見せるのは、ハリス氏が大統領選でドナルド・トランプ前大統領に敗北して以来。ハリス氏にとっても、６日の敗北宣言以降、公の場に姿を見せる初の機会となった。
　ハリス氏と共に献花に臨んだバイデン氏は、「これが司令官としてアーリントンに立つ最後の機会だ」とし、「あなた方が何世代にもわたってわれわれを守ってくれたように、国民を導き、国民に仕え、守るのは、私の人生で最大の名誉だった」と語った。
　さらに、フランスで開催された、１９４４年６月６日のノルマンディー上陸作戦から８０年を記念する式典に出席したことにも触れ、「Ｄデーから８０年後にノルマンディーの崖に立ち、世界を文字通り救った兵士や退役軍人をたたえた」ことを忘れることはないだろうと話した。
　愛国歌「ゴッド・ブレス・アメリカ」が演奏される中、ハンカチで目元を押さえる場面もあった。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2024/11/12-17:05）

President Joe Biden told US veterans Monday that serving as commander-in-chief had been the greatest honor of his life as he laid a wreath at a ceremony that marked his first appearance with Kamala Harris since her election defeat.
The event, at historic Arlington National Cemetery, was also the first time Vice President Harris has been seen in public since her November 6 speech in which she conceded the presidential election to Donald Trump.
Democrats, facing a painful reckoning over their drubbing, have begun soul-searching internal discussions -- and some not-so-private blaming -- over what caused Harris's loss, with some pointing to Biden's initial insistence on running again at age 81, despite having promised to be a bridge president to the next generation.
Criticism of Harris herself has been more muted, and Biden heaped praise on Harris last Thursday in a televised White House address.
Earlier Monday Biden hosted veterans at the White House to mark the holiday before heading to Arlington, the final resting place of two presidents, five-star generals, and some 400,000 veterans of major US conflicts dating back to the Revolutionary War.
At the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Biden and Harris placed their hands on their hearts before participating in a wreath laying.
This is the last time I will stand here at Arlington as commander-in-chief, the president said in an address. It's been the greatest honor of my life to lead you, to serve you, to care for you, to defend you -- just as you defended us, generation after generation after generation.
Biden spoke of his visits to veterans cemeteries in Europe, adding he would never forget standing in the cliffs of Normandy, 80 years after D-Day, to honor the servicemembers and veterans who literally saved the world.
Afterwards as God Bless America played, Biden dabbed both eyes with a handkerchief.
The ceremony came shortly before Biden hosts Trump at the White House on Wednesday.
The Republican has begun naming loyalists to his new administration. He announced he is bringing a hardline immigration official, Tom Homan, back into the fold to serve as his so-called border czar, and rightwing congresswoman Elise Stefanik to be US ambassador to the United Nations.
Trump himself has long claimed he is a fierce supporter of America's military, but he has made a series of controversial comments about veterans.
His longest-serving White House chief of staff, retired general John Kelly, has said the Republican leader privately disparaged US servicemembers, including describing those who died or were imprisoned defending America as suckers and losers.
Trump denies the accusation.
But the soon-to-be 47th president has been on record expressing contempt for late American war hero and senator John McCain, who spent years in a Hanoi prison during the Vietnam War.
Trump posted on social media Monday a picture of himself saluting in front of the American flag, with the wording: Happy Veterans Day 2024.