PARIS (AP) — U.S. President Joe Biden is marking the 80th anniversary of the D-Day invasion of France this week, seeking to demonstrate his unwavering support for European security while some allies fear that Donald Trump threatens to disregard American commitments if he wins another term in the White House.

The trip comes as the deadliest fighting on the continent since World War II continues in Ukraine and allied countries look for ways to turn the tide against Russia, which has recently gained ground on the battlefield. The trip also comes against a backdrop of growing disagreements between the United States and many European allies over how to handle the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

Biden arrived in Paris on Wednesday morning and was greeted by French officials and an honor guard. On Thursday, he will visit hallowed ground near the beaches of Normandy, where rows of bone-white headstones mark the graves of U.S. soldiers who died to end World War II. On Friday, he will also speak at Pointe du Hoc, a site on the French coast where Army Rangers scaled seaside cliffs to overcome Nazi defenses.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said aboard Air Force One en route to France that Biden would emphasize that the men on the cliffs “put country before themselves” and “explain the dangers of isolationism and that if we support them and do not stand up to them, dictators will continue and America and the world will ultimately pay a higher price for it.”

“Eighty years later, we are seeing dictators once again attempt to challenge the order and invade Europe,” Sullivan said. “Freedom-loving nations must stand together to oppose this, as we have done.”

He also said Biden would meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in France to discuss “how we can continue and deepen our support for Ukraine.”

On Saturday, Biden, along with his wife, Jill, will be honored by French President Emmanuel Macron with a state visit that will include a military parade in Paris and a banquet at the Élysée Palace, as well as business meetings where the heads of state are expected to discuss strengthening their alliance and trade and security cooperation in anticipation of the upcoming Olympic Games.

The two leaders are also expected to discuss the Middle East. Biden has invested geopolitical capital in brokering a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas that includes the release of hostages, although he has maintained his staunch support for Israel and opposed European efforts to recognize a Palestinian state or investigate Israel over its handling of the war.

Biden, a Democrat, is scheduled to return to the United States on Sunday, but before leaving France he is expected to visit a cemetery where American soldiers who died in World War I are buried. Trump, a Republican, skipped visiting the same cemetery during a 2018 trip to France. The White House blamed the weather for the decision at the time.

However, later reports revealed that Trump told advisers he did not want to go because he viewed the dead soldiers as “suckers” and “losers.” He has denied the comments, which Biden referred to during a fundraiser in Greenwich, Connecticut, on Monday.

“This guy doesn’t deserve to be president,” Biden said.

Although his foreign travels are ostensibly bipartisan, Biden left no doubt that he sees a political connection between the D-Day anniversary and the election. The president called the invasion “one of the most important moments in the history of the defense of freedom and democracy.”

“I want to say this as clearly as possible,” he added. “Democracy is literally on the ballot this year.”

Biden's trip to France will be followed later this month by another to Italy for the annual G7 summit, a rare doubleheader of international diplomacy in the midst of the presidential election season. Biden will skip a subsequent meeting in Switzerland, where leaders will focus on the war in Ukraine, to attend a campaign fundraiser in Los Angeles with Hollywood stars. Vice President Kamala Harris will represent the United States instead.

Biden's travels and next month's NATO summit in Washington aim to embody a vision of global American leadership that is central to his political identity, but he faces a renewed threat from Trump.

Although the two presidents belong to the same generation – 81-year-old Biden was born a year and a half before D-Day, 77-year-old Trump two years after the invasion – they developed different views on Europe and American alliances over the years.

For Biden, U.S. relations with Europe are a cornerstone of stability and a source of strength. For Trump, on the other hand, they are a drain on valuable resources. He has expressed greater sympathy for autocratic leaders like Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose invasion of Ukraine upended the continent.

Even before voters decide on their vision, cracks in Biden's foreign policy foundation have become apparent. Due to Republican resistance, it took months to secure additional military aid for Ukraine. The delay led to depleted ammunition reserves and Russian advances on the battlefield.

“All of this happened with a diehard Atlanticist and diehard supporter of the alliance in the White House,” said Charles Kupchan, a professor at Georgetown University who previously served as Europe director on President Barack Obama's National Security Council. “Europeans are left with no choice but to ask how reliable the United States can be.”

Kupchan noted that “the bipartisan compact behind a stable and robust American internationalism has collapsed.”

Given the domestic political complications, Kupchan said Biden should be careful about drawing historical parallels between D-Day and Ukraine during his stay in France.

“I'm not sure he wants to say this is a moment like 1940 or 1941,” he said, especially since Biden has ruled out sending American troops to fight the Russian invasion.

Like all of his international commitments, Biden's trip will be overshadowed by Trump's possible return to the White House. The presumptive Republican nominee, who last week became the first U.S. president to be convicted of a crime, has vowed to cancel American commitments to allies in Europe.

“Every conversation is about what will happen,” says Max Bergmann, head of European research at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Bergmann, who was in the middle of a European trip in the days before Biden's arrival, said some European politicians hope a second Trump term would be no more damaging than his first, when he failed to push through some of his more extreme ideas. But he doubts Trump can be kept in check without moderate members of his administration – such as former Defense Secretary James Mattis – who are unlikely to return.

“I can’t calm them down,” said Bergmann.

Rachel Rizzo, a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, said there was a “palpable sense of uncertainty” as the United States and Europe grappled with populist movements that had proven enduring popularity.

“This is not an exception, this is not a coincidence,” she said. “The citizens of both continents have real grievances, and these are expressed in support of right-wing parties.”

Further complicating things for Biden is that his trip coincides with the trial of his son Hunter in Delaware. The younger Biden is accused of lying about buying a gun by claiming he was not a drug addict. He has pleaded not guilty.

The prosecution began hearing its case on Tuesday, just days after Trump became the first U.S. president to be convicted of a crime. Trump was found guilty in New York of illegally paying hush money to a porn actress who claimed they had sex. Trump denies the affair.

Paul Begala, a longtime Democratic strategist, said Biden would probably be better off ignoring Trump while he is in France.

“When you're 81 years old and three-quarters of the country thinks you're too old, one of the things you have to do is show strength,” he said. “That's what he has to do there. He has to show strength.”

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Associated Press writers Sylvie Corbett in Paris and Fatima Hussein in Greenwich, Connecticut, contributed to this report.