greatest generation, with a tribute to the men who turned the tide and saved democracy. >> we have a special obligation. we cannot let what happened here be lost in the silence of the years to come. we must remember it, must honor it and live it. and we must remember the fact that they were heroes here that day. it does not absolve us from what we have to do today. those remarks taking a deeper significance ahead of biden's meeting with zelenskyy later today, there for the d-day ceremonies as the war in ukraine wages on. the president's son in court, hearing testimony in his federal gun trial. on the stand today, his brother's widow, with whom hunter had a romantic relationship after beau died. hallie testifying about hunter's addiction to crack. donald trump returning to the campaign trail in arizona, almost a week after he gets critical pre-trial rulings, both florida classified documents and the georgia election interference cases. ♪♪ good day, everyone. i'm andrea mitchell in washington. today, the world remembers the brave sacrifice and valor of the veterans of d-day 80 years ago as war rages in europe. eight decades ago, american troops stormed the beaches of normandy side by side with our british and canadian allies in a show of strength and determination against the nazis. 2,400 americans died that first day. the allied toll throughout the battle reaching 73,000. more than 150,000 were left wounded. 200 surviving veterans made the pilgrimage today, with their shrinking each day, our nation is losing a vital connection to the greatest generation. standing among the graves on the battlefield above the wind-swept beaches this morning, president biden and the first lady at the cemetery honoring the fallen. surrounded by world leaders, the president acknowledged the commitment to mutual defense that grew out of world war ii is being tested in ukraine. >> here on the coast of normandy, the battle between freedom and tyranny would be joined here on that june morning. isolationism was not the answer 80 years ago and is not the answer today. [ applause ] the struggle between a dictatorship and freedom, it's unending. here in europe we see one stark example. ukraine has been invaded by a tyrant. a coalition of more than 50 countries standing strong with ukraine. we will not walk away. we defend democracy. we stand together. my answer is, yes, and only can be yes. >> we begin on the hallowed ground at the american cemetery with nbc news chief white house correspondent peter alexander. the president meeting with two dozen of the remaining veterans. it was a moving ceremony. many of them standing from their wheelchairs to greet him and president macron. standing for freedom eight decades ago as they manage to stand today. tell us about them. >> reporter: andrea, it's striking as you look out at the american cemetery here at normandy here. barely a cloud in the sky. it was 80 years ago this day that from these same skies bullets were raining down on the american troops as they arrived here. 9,388 american service members are buried in this cemetery. so many of them who laid down their lives on that day, d-day, eight decades ago now. these were powerful tributes over the course of the day. that much more powerful because it may be the last reunion for many of these men. young men when they served. now we in the a series of them. they are celebrated by their family members and by the allied nations participating in today's ceremony. the president having played part of his clip there, you saw some of his remarks. really did have a leer message throughout. not just thanking those for their service and sacrifice but noting that democracy is fragile at this time in the united states and frankly freedom is fragile around the world. the president speaking before so many of those veterans who were draped with blankets behind him, now in wheelchairs. these were incredibly powerful moments for a new generation as well, for whom many of these moments only play out in black and white. to these men who witnessed it in real time, they wanted to make sure those stories are shared. the historian communicated, this is what has become a powerful ritual, american ritual, had is -- which is to retell the stories. all the more reason not to forget them in the eyes of the president is because the threat exists again today in his view as the ukrainians are spending a different dictator, this time vladimir putin. president biden set to meet with zelenskyy during his visit in normandy. president biden will head to an area on the north of the country, on particular because it's a huge, steep cliff. those american army rangers arrived in 1944 facing that cliff that they scaled before attacking and overtaking the german bunkers, what was the first of many steps to reclaim this continent from the nazis. >> peter, that's where the president will give another speech tomorrow. i know you are going to be there as well. stay with us. here in d.c. is retired four star general, general barry mccaffrey. so many thoughts. peter talked about that area. i was there when reagan gave a speech. who are those boys? who are those men who climbed the cliffs? i'm paraphrasing. it was tom brokaw and john chancellor. as a young correspondent cover ing ronald reagan, it was extraordinary. five years ago, walking on the omaha beach with my colleagues and realizing the germans were there. >> we have to take into account they had been at war five or six years. they were the best army on the face on the earth. here you have -- the normandy landings were 2 million people. >> stunning. >> army, navy, coast guard, you name it. they were all involved in it. it wasn't just 150,000 people that crossed the beach on 6 june. it was the fight to clear normandy and make sure we had a foothold. that was 73,000 killed and 153,000 wounded. there had been nothing like it in history. the complexity, the risk of this operation. >> when you think about general eisenhower, he had written the letter of apology should it have failed. taking all of the responsibility on his own shoulders. >> yeah. it was such an important moment in history. what would have happened if we had been repulsed at the beachhead, if the germans had been able to focus on the soviets who had done the preponderance of the fighting and knocked them out of the war? a lot was at stake. eisenhower, a man of tremendous good judgment and experience, he was able to hold this allied operation together. at the end of the day, he was in charge. it was his responsibility. >> peter baker is joining us from paris where the president will go next after the ceremonies today. peter, this trip for the president, to give the speech tomorrow and with his predecessors -- people at the white house know what the challenge is. he is trying to give a message as he did today about the challenge of preserving democracy and the threat of isolationism. >> yeah, that's exactly right. every president who followed reagan at every d-day celebration has had to try to live up the iconic speech that he gave in 1984. none of them as successfully as reagan. president biden and his team knows the challenge in taking on that site on this particular day. he wants to associate himself with reagan's legacy of american leadership on the international stage. the talk about isolationism sounds almost word for word like a line president reagan used in that speech. president reagan talked about the threat of russian aggression back in 1984. he mentioned the soviet armies that came at the end of world war ii and stayed unwanted, unyielding, his phrase that he used. i think president biden wants to, 40 years later, make the case that he is the real inheriter of international leadership and not implicitly his rival donald trump who said that russia can do whatever it wants to attack nato allies if they haven't spent enough money on their own military. >> peter, you and your colleague in "the new york times" recently wrote many of the leaders who were with president biden, who are with him in normandy, are united with him on ukraine, united on the defense of europe, but they have split off from him for his full embrace of netanyahu and the way the war is going in gaza. >> yeah, that's right. it's an odd situation for the president. his first trip to europe since the october 7th hamas attack. he is rallying the allies in terms of the ukraine war against russia, even as he is defying them on gaza and israel. most european nations have taken a more jaundiced view. several have recognized an independent palestinian state. many support the court to attempt to issue arrest warrants to netanyahu and order the israelis to stop the operation in rafah. they are on different pages. he is still part of the crowd. he is the leader of the crowd. even though he is not on the same page, he is doing everything he can to end that war. >> peter alexander, the president's got a heavy schedule in paris as well. >> reporter: yeah, that's right. this is at the end of his visit here to normandy. he will be where ronald reagan immortalized the boys as you were talking about. the president will begin his state visit in paris alongside macron. this is a critical visit ahead of his visit to italy next week for the g7 as well when he returns to europe for that. there's some real divisions between the u.s. and some of its allies right now as it relates to the situation between israel and hamas in gaza. there's unity as it relates to ukraine. i'm struck by another fly by in the distance, red, white, and blue, not just the flag, the u.s. colors, but the colors of the french flag as well. all of that the backdrop to what -- these are some of the most powerful days. i have fond memories of being here the first time ten years ago alongside tom brokaw who introduced the greatest generation to so many americans who didn't know it. the veterans here did. i hope at the end of the day, what some americans take home from this visit is the focus on patriotism over party and the strength of america when it's united as one. >> being there with tom ten years ago, who is just a hero to so many of the veterans for really bringing, as tom hanks has done, with "save g prie vat ing private ryeryan," bringing it into better focus. thank you all so much. we have more on the events later in the show. the victims of war, another war. dozens killed in a new strike at a school in gaza. a u.n. school. bringing the civilian death toll back into focus with neither side fully committing to a current cease-fire proposal. that's next. we will be right back. you are watching "andrea mitchell reports." we will be back in 90 seconds. this is msnbc. blocks heartburn for a full 24 hours. for one and done heartburn relief, prilosec otc. one pill a day, 24 hours, zero heartburn. sup? 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[traffic noises] so get allstate, save money on auto insurance and be protected from mayhem. yeah, like me. ♪♪ a u.n. school in gaza was targeted by israeli air strikes overnight, killing at least 35 people, most women and children, injuring dozens more. the israeli military says it had been used as a hideout for hamas operatives who took part in the october 7th terror attack and that it delayed the bombing twice to try to avoid hitting civilians. the u.n. refugee agency says it cannot confirm hamas fighters were hiding there, which would be a violation of the rules of war. they said attacking a u.n. school shows a blatant disregard of international humanitarian law. president biden and the leaders of 16 other countries released a joint statement calling on hamas and israel to accept the proposal that's been on the table, saying, there's no time to lose. joining me from tel aviv, raf sanchez. what else do we know about this tragic strike? more civilian casualties in this hideous war. >> reporter: andrea, this strike took place in central gaza in the early hours of this morning at a school run by the united nations. the israeli military says that hamas operatives, some of whom took part in the october 7th terror attack, were inside of the school and that they precisely targeted two areas where they were hiding. andrea, these schools -- these u.n. facilities have been a shelter for palestinian refugees throughout this war. it is clear now that a large number of innocent people were killed in this israeli attack. hospital officials at a nearby hospital in central gaza say of the 40 or so people who were killed, more than half were women and children. our team was there in the emergency room as these dazed, bloodied, wounded kids were brought in. the israeli military says it twice delayed carrying out this strike to try to avoid civilian casualties. it says it took other measures to reduce harm to innocents, including reconnaissance flights over the school shortly before the attack. a leading israeli human rights group is saying tonight that while it would be illegal for hamas to have used that school to plan military operations, that would not justify an israeli strike on a place where civilians were sheltering. it's saying that this strike is a suspected war crime. this all just underscores the fierce urgency the white house feels right now about trying to get to a cease-fire deal, trying to get to a deal to bring the hostages home. as you mentioned, president biden and 16 other world leaders demanding hamas accept the propoal on the table right now. hamas for its part says it wants clear assurances that the israeli government is committed to ending the war and to withdrawing its forces from gaza as part of the agreement. that's something that president biden laid out in that speech at the white house on friday. but hamas says there have been contradictory message coming out of the israeli government. nearly a week on, netanyahu has not endorsed the outline he laid out and some far right members of his government said they are deeply, deeply opposed. >> you know that the u.s. says that he did endorse it when it was accepted unanimously by the war cabinet. there's a disagreement on that. the cia director was touching base with qatar and egypt yesterday and then left probably returning home. then it was being presented again to hamas. the pressure is on with probably a lot more pressure is going to be necessary. events like this can't help. raf sanchez, thank you so much. the court watch. the prosecution's case in the hunter biden trial could end as soon as today. we will have all the highlights in a few moments. you are watching "andrea mitchell reports" on msnbc. tchec [announcer] introducing allison's plaque psoriasis. she thinks her flaky gray patches are all people see. otezla is the #1 prescribed pill to treat plaque psoriasis. allison! over here! otezla can help you get clearer skin and reduce itching and flaking. with no routine blood tests required. doctors have been prescribing otezla for over a decade. otezla is also approved to treat psoriatic arthritis. don't use otezla if you're allergic to it. serious allergic reactions can happen. otezla may cause severe diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting. some people taking otezla had depression, suicidal thoughts or weight loss. upper respiratory tract infection and headache may occur. ♪♪ [announcer with clearer skin girls' day out is a good day out. live in the moment. ask your doctor about otezla. ♪ that colonoscopy for getting screened ♪ ♪ is why i'm delaying ♪ ♪ i heard i had a choice ♪ ♪ i know the name, that's what i'm saying ♪ -cologuard®? 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[ bird squawks loudly ] to a pet shop. meg's moving company uses t-mobile. so she scaled down her fleet to save money. and don's paying so much for at&t, he's been waiting to update his equipment! there's a smarter way to save. comcast business mobile. you could save up to 70% on your wireless bill. so you don't have to compromise. powering smarter savings. powering possibilities. right now in the hunter biden gun trial, hallie biden, who had a romantic relationship after beau died with hunter, is on the stand testifying about hunter and her own drug use and what led up to the day she found that gun, the gun that hunter is accused of buying illegally. joining us is sara fitzpatrick and here with me is former federal prosecutor paul butler. sara, bring us up to speed on what hallie has been saying. she's being cross-examined by the defense, right? >> reporter: right. she has been on the stand since about 10:00 a.m. she's been very carefully, very precisely answering both prosecutors' questions, on october 23 when she discovered hunter had a gun in the car on her property and her panic and fluster and worry that he could use the gun to harm himself or perhaps one of her children could find it. perhaps more importantly, she also described and authenticated text messages exchanged the day after hunter bought the gun in which he appears to describe meeting a drug dealer. she was very careful to say that she did not know independently, firsthand, that he used drugs, was using drugs or purchasing drugs during that time. that's going to be a really key focus for the prosecution. one thing that was interesting, i sat next to hallie's husband as she was delivering her testimony. he told me after that this has been very, very hard on her. she disclosed her own addiction to crack cocaine. she was ashamed and embarrassed. in fact, it was hunter introduced her to the substance. this process has been very emotional for her and has prevented them from going on their honeymoon. >> you can imagine. paul butler, this is not a complicated case. it's just a complicated life and lives, because he filled out the form and he bought the gun. the question is whether he thought he was free of addiction. >> not complicated but sad and tragic. many of the jurors said during their voir dire, their families have experienced issues with drug abuse. the defense is that when hunter filled out that form saying that he wasn't a drug addict or user, that that was true at that time. he used drugs in the past. the form asked about the present. there are questions on the form, have you ever been convicted of a felony? the drug