Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) warned against embracing isolationism and those skeptical of building up defense on the 80th anniversary of D-Day.
McConnell detailed his thoughts on what the anniversary means for U.S. foreign policy when faced with threats to democracy in an op-ed published in the New York Times. Eighty years ago today, the Allied forces embarked on a two-month campaign that concluded with the liberation of France from the Nazi regime and eventually ending World War II.
At a time when McConnell is trying to beat back what he sees as a rising isolationist wing in his party that has tried to hold up sending aid to Ukraine, McConnell invoked skeptics who argued the United States had no interest in entering the conflict in Europe in the 1940s.
“We forget how influential isolationists persuaded millions of Americans that the fate of allies and partners mattered little to our own security and prosperity,” McConnell wrote. “We gloss over the powerful political forces that downplayed growing danger, resisted providing assistance to allies and partners, and tried to limit America’s ability to defend its national interests.”
“Here at home, we face problems of our own. Some vocal corners of the American right are trying to resurrect the discredited brand of prewar isolationism and deny the basic value of the alliance system that has kept the postwar peace,” McConnell said.
President Joe Biden, likely the last president to have been alive for D-Day, spoke at the anniversary event in France, at which hundreds of veterans were in attendance. Ronald Reagan delivered his address while he was president on the 40th anniversary of D-Day, in which he also proclaimed his staunch opposition to isolationism.
“We in America have learned bitter lessons from two World Wars: It is better to be here ready to protect the peace than to take blind shelter across the sea, rushing to respond only after freedom is lost,” Reagan said. “We’ve learned that isolationism never was and never will be an acceptable response to tyrannical governments with an expansionist intent.”
In the op-ed, McConnell also warned against Democrats who may be weary of building up a defense network. He warned against an attack prompting action, such as the attack on Pearl Harbor, which prompted the country to enter World War II.
“It should not take another catastrophic attack like Pearl Harbor to wake today’s isolationists from the delusion that regional conflicts have no consequences for the world’s most powerful and prosperous nation,” McConnell wrote. “With global power comes global interests and global responsibilities.”
“Nor should President Biden or congressional Democrats require another major conflict to start investing seriously in American hard power,” he continued.
He urged his colleagues in the Senate to take up the Senate Armed Services Committee plan, which calls for a “generational investment” in defense.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
“Eighty years ago, America and our allies fought because we had to. The forces assembled on the English Channel on June 6, 1944, represented the fruits of many months of feverish planning. And once victory was secure, the United States led the formation of the alliances that have underpinned Western peace and security ever since,” McConnell wrote.
“Today, the better part of valor is to build credible defenses before they are necessary and demonstrate American leadership before it is doubted any further,” he added.