Jamie McCourt on the Significance of D-Day

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: What have you had to do? What is the planning for this major visit to the D-Day sites on this anniversary?

JAMIE MCCOURT, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO FRANCE AND MONACO: You cannot possibly imagine. I never would have dreamed how much goes on when the president comes to visit the country. It is quite incredible. It’s incredibly mammoth for an undertaking. All of the embassy is involved. People around the country are involved. The French are involved. It is momentous, as it should be, for a commemoration like this, and it’s a true celebration of the bilateral relationship between France and America.

AMANPOUR: So, talk to me a little bit about that because, you know, this is something so important, it was such a turning point during World War II and it was the major entry by the United States into this war on behalf of the alliance. Talk to me about what it means to America and what America has meant to France and to Europe in all these years.

MCCOURT: Well, it goes without saying that the relationship between the two countries is incredible for so many reasons. As I like to say, because I’m an angel investor, I don’t think that people should forget that America was a start-up and France was our first investor. So, they were there with us from the beginning. And similarly, we were there for the French and World War II is certainly a fantastic example of all of that, D-Day especially, and the Normandy beaches have become emblematic of all that happened that day, whether it’s the 15,000 jumpers or the 60,000 people who debarked on the shores, there are so many reasons to never forget all the lives that were given by the allied forces and certainly, the Americans on this day.

AMANPOUR: You know, it is so interesting, you mentioned that the French were there for America and America was there for the French, you know, some 200 years later. You’re talking, obviously, about Lafayette and how he helped America fight off the British way back in that war, and of course, how, I guess, the United States paid it forward to relieve them and liberate them from Nazi occupation. So, fast forward. You speak French, don’t you? I mean, I know that you did some of your studies in France and you have just said you’re an angel investor.

MCCOURT: Yes.

AMANPOUR: You are a businesswoman by profession. You’re now an ambassador. What has it meant to you to represent your country at this time under this presidency with this sort of — I mean, you know, it’s not lost on you, there’s quite a lot of tension between the United States and Europe?

MCCOURT: First of all, it’s thrilling. It’s an honor, and I am truly privileged to serve my country and absolutely serve this president. I

think that he is remarkable