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2024 Election Coverage

Biden Commemorates Memorial Day In First Outing Amid Coronavirus Pandemic

Former Vice President Joe Biden and Jill Biden depart after placing a wreath at the Delaware Memorial Bridge Veterans Memorial Park on Monday.
Patrick Semansky
/
AP
Former Vice President Joe Biden and Jill Biden depart after placing a wreath at the Delaware Memorial Bridge Veterans Memorial Park on Monday.

Former Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, made an unannounced visit to Veterans Memorial Park in New Castle, Del., on Monday.

It's the first time Biden has left the area around his home in Wilmington since mid-March, when he began self-isolation amid the coronavirus pandemic.

He and his wife, Jill Biden, both wearing black masks, placed a wreath before a memorial wall commemorating war veterans from Delaware and New Jersey.

"Never forget the sacrifices that these men and women made. Never, ever, forget," Biden said before leaving the wall.

President Trump also honored service members Monday, at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia and Fort McHenry in Baltimore.

Trump has been critical of Biden's decision to remain in self-isolation at his home in Wilmington. Biden canceled in-person campaign events. Over the last two months, Biden has held events virtually with supporters, including fundraisers, and has done a number of television interviews from his home.

In response to a question about being out in public on Memorial Day, Biden said, "It feels good to be out of my house."

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Vanessa Romo is a reporter for NPR's News Desk. She covers breaking news on a wide range of topics, weighing in daily on everything from immigration and the treatment of migrant children, to a war-crimes trial where a witness claimed he was the actual killer, to an alleged sex cult. She has also covered the occasional cat-clinging-to-the-hood-of-a-car story.