9 photos of world leaders standing in the rain to honor fallen soldiers

Daniel Brown

Nov 13, 2018, 02:06 IST

9 photos of world leaders standing in the rain to honor fallen soldiers

White House

Trump speaks "in soaking rain" at a WWI commemoration ceremony at Suresnes American Cemetery on November 11.

President Donald Trump was criticized on Saturday for not attending a World War I memorial service about 50 miles from Paris because of rainy weather.

The trip to Ainse-Marne American Cemetery and Memorial was canceled "due to scheduling and logistical difficulties caused by the weather," the White House said, per a press pool report.

A delegation led by White House chief of staff John Kelly and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joe Dunford attended in Trump's place.

The White House said visibility issues precluded Trump from taking his helicopter to the site, and later said that they didn't want to send the presidential motorcade, as it would disrupt Paris's traffic.

Ben Rhodes, who was former President Barack Obama's deputy national security adviser for strategic communications, tweeted that the White House's reasoning didn't make sense.

"I helped plan all of President Obama's trips for 8 years," Rhodes tweeted. "There is always a rain option. Always."

But on Sunday, Trump did speak at a ceremony at Suresnes American Cemetery near Paris in what the Washington Examiner called "soaking rain."

Still, that didn't stop the French Army on Monday from trolling Trump for not attending the ceremony on Saturday, tweeting "There is rain, but it does not matter... We remain motivated," along with a picture of a soldier crawling under wire in the rain.

Here are 9 photos of past and present world leaders honoring veterans and fallen troops in the rain.

President Dwight Eisenhower walks in the rain to the Tomb of Italy’s unknown soldiers in Rome.

President John F. Kennedy and French President Charles DeGaulle stand in the pouring rain at Paris's Arch of Triumph.

President Barack Obama at the Tomb of the Unknowns during a Veteran's Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.

Chinese President Xi Jinping bows in the rain at the Monument to the People's Heroes at Tiananmen Square during a ceremony marking the National Day in Beijing.

Russian President Vladimir Putin stands in the rain during a wreath-laying ceremony marking the anniversary of the Nazi German invasion in 1941.

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev stands in the rain next to Putin during the same wreath-laying ceremony marking the anniversary of the Nazi German invasion.

Canadian President Justin Trudeau stands under an umbrella in the rain to honor those who fought during the Dieppe Raid.

Trudeau then put down the umbrella and said, "As we sit here in the rain, thinking how uncomfortable we must be these minutes as our suits get wet and our hair gets wet and our shoes get wet, I think it's all the more fitting that we remember on that day, in Dieppe, the rain wasn't rain, it was bullets."

Trump speaks "in soaking rain" at a WWI commemoration ceremony at Suresnes American Cemetery on Sunday.

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