Joe Biden takes veiled swipe at Donald Trump during D-Day speech - 'The dark forces never go away'

Joe Biden appears to have criticised Donald Trump in a speech to D-Day veterans in Normandy.

During the speech at the Normandy American Cemetery on the 80th anniversary of D-Day, the US President made coded criticisms of his political rival and others who have called for US support for Ukraine to be reduced.

He said: "That isolation was not the answer 80 years ago, and is not the answer today" as he drew comparisons between the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the Nazi occupation of France in the 1940s.

"The men who fought here became heroes, not because they were the strongest, toughest or fiercest, although they were, but because they were given an audacious mission," he said.

"They knew that things are worth fighting and dying for…here we proved the forces of liberty are stronger than the forces of conquest."

He added: "We know the dark forces that these heroes fought against 80 years ago – they never go away."

His comments are likely to anger Biden's critics in the same way Emmanuel Macron was criticised for his apparent politicisation of his commemoration speech ahead of Sunday’s European elections.

Biden and Trump have both continued to position themselves as the bigger supporter of veterans as the presidential election approaches.

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During his D-Day speech, Biden added: "Ukrainians are fighting with extraordinary courage, suffering great losses, but never backing down.

"They have inflicted on the Russian aggression tremendous losses. We will not walk away. Because if we do, Ukraine will be subjugated."

Trump previously said that he would end the war in Ukraine "in one day".

The ceremony was Biden's first official event of the D-Day 80 anniversary.

Speaking to the crowd, he added: "Winston Churchill would call what happened here ‘the greatest, most complicated operation ever’.

"It was estimated that 80 per cent of them would be killed within hours…but they were brave.

"It’s the highest honour to be able to salute you, here in Normandy, once more. All of you. God love you."

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‘Gething has only been Welsh First Minister for 78 days…Will he still be 78 days from now?’ - analysis by Katherine Forster

It’s only 78 days since Vaughan Gething became Welsh First Minister. But yesterday he was in tears in the Senedd.

He lost a vote of confidence in the Welsh Parliament, having seemed confident of victory only the day before. After all, Welsh Labour has 30 out of 60 seats there. The Welsh Conservatives (16) who had brought the motion, would vote against him, he knew. So would Plaid Cymru (13) and the single Liberal Democrat. But he had the numbers, he reasoned. He’d be fine.

He wasn’t and he isn’t.

Two Welsh Labour MSs (Members of the Senedd) were off sick. The opposition parties refused to help out with a pairing operation.

Worth saying a bit about these two. Hannah Blythyn, the first, Gething sacked as a minister recently, alleging she had leaked text messages to the media (an accusation she denies). The second, Lee Waters, has been a vocal critic of Gething’s decision to accept a £200,000 campaign donation from a firm owned by David Neal, convicted twice of dumping waste.

This £200,000 donation is what has led to his rapid fall from grace.

But in truth, behind the optics of his election, making history as the first black leader of a European country, the cracks were already there that day in March.

The majority of the Labour Members of the Senedd had preferred his rival for the leadership, former education minister Jeremy Miles. He was narrowly defeated by Gething, who won by 52 per cent to Miles’ 48 per cent. The unions, with their larger membership, had swung behind Gething, which proved crucial.

And Miles had come this close having had just £59,000 to fund his campaign.

There’s also the murky matter of missing messages which he could not provide to the Covid inquiry (having been Health Minister during the pandemic). He claims not to have deleted them (but others say differently).

And alleged lobbying too.

Following the tears, he batted away the calls from the opposition parties for his resignation.

“I have never made a decision, in more than a decade as a minister, for personal or financial gain”, he said. He maintains he has “always acted with integrity”, “followed all the rules”, and will “carry on doing my duty”.

And when I asked Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer about this at Labour’s Welsh campaign launch in Abergavenny last week, Starmer stressed Gething hadn’t broken any rules.

But Andrew RT Davies, leader of the Welsh Conservatives, says this is about “judgement, transparency and honesty”.

Opposition MSs are outraged. And there are cries of hypocrisy, given Gething has been quick to find fault with Westminster and other parties in the past.

So if he won’t go of his own accord, what now?

The opposition parties might call a vote of confidence in the whole Government. They’d be unlikely to win, I think.

But it’s hard to see how Gething comes back from this, given he does not have the support of the majority of the Senedd. Allies say the two Labour MSs off sick would have voted for him. But they weren’t there and they didn’t.

And it’s terrible timing for Labour in the middle of a General Election campaign. Starmer used to hold Wales up as a ‘blueprint’ for what Labour can do. But this scandal, along with the highly controversial 20mph speed limits (now weakened) and the sustainable farming scheme (now delayed), and Wales’ poor record on NHS waits, hardly paint a positive picture.

Gething is in Normandy today at the D-Day commemorations.

He’s coming back to trouble. Might he be leant upon and change his mind? Or stand down after the General Election? Time will tell.

But it’s clear that political turmoil is no longer just the preserve of Westminster. Liz Truss lasted 49 days. But Humza Yousef lasted barely over a year in Scotland, where the SNP for so long seemed impregnable.

All might have seemed calm under Welsh Labour under Mark Drakeford. Those days are gone.

Will Gething still be First Minister another 78 days from now? I wouldn’t bet on it.

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‘I don’t know where you’re getting this from!’ Tom Harwood in furious clash with Emily Thornberry over Labour plans

GB News reporter Tom Harwood entered into a heated debate with Labour Minister Emily Thornberry earlier today.

This comes after last night saw the first head-to-head between Labour leader Keir Starmer and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on ITV.

Amongst the many claims made during the clash, Sunak accused Starmer of "saddling up taxes" and having "no big plans" for the country, with Starmer blasting Sunak over the Conservatives' 14-year "failure" on the NHS and migration.

Speaking to Shadow Attorney General Emily Thornberry, Tom Harwood said: "Independent economists, left-leaning economists, centrist economists, centre-right economists across the board say that if we're going to see improvement in public services as the Labour Party is promising, there will need to be general tax rises."

He explained: "Now, I suspect that the Labour Party will do that by keeping those thresholds frozen so that more people are dragged into higher tax brackets. As we've seen, these stealth tax rises will continue whichever party is in power.

"I suspect that the Labour Party will also potentially double capital gains tax as well. What's hard to imagine is that none of those major tax changes happen."

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Thornberry fumed back: "I don't know where you're getting any of this from. Where are you getting that? We're going to double the capital gains tax. You're not the Chancellor and you're not the Shadow Chancellor."

She added: "Listen, people should expect that we will do what we say in our manifesto. I can tell you this, we have had to make some really difficult decisions with taxes, because we do know that money is limited and we do know that what we are likely to inherit if we are given the honour of being the next Government, will be an absolute mess.

"And so we've said this is where we will spend money in the short term. This is what our first steps will be. And most importantly, and above everything else, pledge number one is to make sure that we stabilise the economy, that we grow the economy.

"Only through growing that economy will we be able to do the sort of things that we want to do. Because we are a Labour Government, we would want to look after those who need a hand.

She later explained "We have not said you just close the tax loopholes on non-doms and that will transform the health service.

"Of course, we're not saying that, but this is grown-up politics. We are being responsible. We want people to trust us, and we want to be able to put forward what we will do and stick to our word. And the last thing we want is a bunch of liars like it is being led by this Prime Minister.

"He is prepared to make up anything because they're so desperate to keep in power. They have no idea what they want to do anyway and are prepared to essentially just get away with anything.

"I hope that the people on GB News will hold them to account because it should be your duty to do so. Don't let them get away with this. Lying to the British public is not something which should be forgiven."

The Labour leader initially failed to challenge the prime minister's repeated accusations that Labour's spending plans would cost each family £2,000.

He eventually called it "nonsense" and "absolute garbage", saying his pledge to invest in green projects would result in cheaper energy bills.

Labour said the figure is based on misleading information put out in a "dodgy Tory dossier" and called on Mr Sunak to correct the record.

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TV legend Alastair Stewart claims debate 'could be a turning point for the Conservative Party'

Broadcasting legend Alastair Stewart has revealed the two political head-to-heads that he would love to be a part of.

This comes ahead of the long-awaited debate that will take place this evening where Labour leader Keir Starmer and current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak are expected to lock horns.

Back in 2010, Stewart moderated the first-ever United Kingdom political leaders' debates between the prime minister candidates in the general election.

Speaking to GB News the broadcaster said: "It could be a turning point for the Conservative Party. And I find that fascinating.

"I wrote down knowing that I was going to be talking to you, the two debates I'd really love to witness and even chair, if it was possible.

"That would be Nigel Farage versus Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer versus Diane Abbott. Then we'd really see what the differences were."

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Mark Drakeford 'loses it' as he attacks cabinet minister over shelving policy to change number of school holidays

Former First Minister Mark Drakeford had a dramatic outburst at the Senedd today over the Welsh Government shelving his plans to change the school holidays in Wales.

Proposals introduced by Drakeford outlined that the half term break in October 2025 would be doubled to a fortnight, but the summer holiday would be cut from the traditional six week period to a five week.

Earlier this week the Welsh Government confirmed those plans will be postponed until the next Senedd election.

In his first major intervention since standing down as First Minister, a fiery Drakeford said the Welsh Government has missed an opportunity to help children.

Drakeford said: "When they come back in September, the school starts all over again.

"The idea that there is no learning loss in the lives of those children is absolutely absurd.

“What this policy would have done would have begun to close the gap in the lives of those children.

"Here is a Government which could have done something to help them, but it has decided not to."

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Education Minister, Lynne Neagle pushed back on her former boss saying a week’s change would not make a difference.

She said: "To think a week’s change in the school year is going to make a difference to the systemic challenges we’re facing in education is quite frankly fiddling while Rome burns.

"I’m really really sorry to couch it in those terms.”

Since Vaughan Gething came into Government many policies of Drakeford have been postponed or altered, including the controversial 20mph policy, delays to the council tax changes, and delays to the sustainable farming scheme.

The outburst comes ahead of a difficult day for the Welsh Government, as Vaughan Gething faces a vote of no confidence on Wednesday.

The vote was called amid feelings of discontent within the Party over Vaughan Gething accepting a £200,000 donation.

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