By Douglas A. Macgregor

There were more than 496,777 surviving American WWII veterans as of last year, and every single one of them deserves the chance to watch their Commander-in-Chief honor their enormous contributions to the free world on the 75th anniversary of D-Day.

Throughout his presidency, Donald Trump has made it clear that he respects the sacrifices made by America’s brave men and women in uniform, and the D-Day ceremony gave him an opportunity to express America’s gratitude to the generation that led the struggle against global fascism.

When President Trump visited Japan this Memorial Day, for instance, he proudly praised our military heroes, reminding them that the entire country owes them a debt of gratitude for all they do to promote freedom, peace, and prosperity. He touched on a similar theme while delivering the commencement speech at the U.S. Naval Academy this year, saying, “Your country is sending you on a vital mission. With your help, nothing will ever, ever, ever stop the United States of America.”

Beyond honoring America’s soldiers rhetorically, President Trump has also spearheaded initiatives to improve the quality of life for those who served our country, such as reforming the Veterans Administration to end the scandalously shabby treatment our veterans were receiving before he took office.

Sadly, however, the Democrats and the mainstream media used D-Day as yet another excuse to push their partisan agenda and attack President Trump, claiming that he didn’t deliver a unifying message in France.

“The president has shown a repeated willingness to inject nationalistic rhetoric and political partisanship into moments once aimed at unity [with our allies]” the Associated Press wrote last month, failing to recognize the hypocrisy of its own biased reporting. “For Trump, there is no water’s edge for politics, no veneer of nonpartisanship around military or national security matters.”

Yet, President Trump’s critics and the mainstream media are the ones who politicized D-Day, taking jabs at Donald Trump well ahead of his trip to the Normandy American Cemetery.

Representative Steve Cohen (D, TN-09), for instance, went so far as to declare that the President “shouldn’t be allowed” to participate in the D-Day ceremony because he cracked a joke about Joe Biden during a recent press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

“Disgusting display by Trump. No mention of #MemorialDay,” he tweeted at the time. “He shouldn’t be allowed at anniversary of D-Day June 6.”

As usual, though, Cohen had his facts wrong. The President and the First Lady did in fact honor American troops on Memorial Day, with President Trump delivering passionate remarks to sailors and Marines aboard the USS Wasp in Japan. This was following a somber, private, and reflective visit by the First Couple at Arlington National Cemetery prior to their departure for Japan.

Cohen’s blundering and erroneous criticism is typical of his Party’s unhinged attacks against Donald Trump. Last year, the Democrats and the media attempted to smear President Trump for failing to attend a ceremony at a First World War cemetery in France, glossing over the fact that his helicopter transport was canceled by the U.S. Navy due to inclement weather.

Fortunately, President Trump is used to these sorts of partisan attacks, and he didn’t let them stop him from recognizing our country’s heroes and fighting for the dignity of our veterans.

There are still hundreds of thousands of surviving World War II veterans, and while only some of them personally participated in the D-Day landings that marked the beginning of the end of the Nazi regime, their Commander-in-Chief honored every single one of them when he traveled to the site where American soldiers gave their lives to secure one of the free world’s greatest victories ever.

Douglas A. Macgregor is a U.S. Army Colonel (retired), author, and consultant