Portsmouth, England (CNN) After two days spent basking in royal attention, President Donald Trump turned Wednesday to more solemn matters: commemorating 75 years since the Normandy landings.

He traveled to the English south coast for a ceremony at Portsmouth Harbor, near where allied forces set off for the beaches in France in their bid to retake Europe during World War II.

Trump appeared onstage briefly to read from a prayer originally delivered over the radio by one of his predecessors, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, on the evening of the landings.

"Our sons, pride of our nation, this day have set upon a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our Republic, our religion, and our civilization, and to set free a suffering humanity," Trump intoned before dancers emerged to the upbeat strains of "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B," the wartime ditty sung by the Andrews Sisters.

Earlier in the morning, Trump's mind was in a less reverent place. He tweeted barbs directed at former Vice President Joe Biden, the news media and the actress Bette Midler -- all before 8 a.m. local time in London -- where he was spending a second night in the US ambassador's residence.

Read More