- Andrzej Duda became the latest world leader to renew his relationship with the former president as the November elections approach.
- Doubt arrived as Republicans threaten to derail plans for more US aid to Ukraine
- ‘We had four great years together,’ Trump said, ‘maybe we have to do it again’
Poland’s president last night became the latest foreign leader to beat his way to Donald Trump’s door as the world prepares for his possible return to the White House.
Andrzej Duda was welcomed like an old friend when he arrived at Trump Tower, where the former president is staying while his criminal trial for alleged hush money payments begins in New York.
The two men are long-time allies, but Duda was eager to win their support for more military aid to Ukraine amid continued Republican hostility toward a new aid package.
“This gentleman is doing a fantastic job, the people of Poland love him, they really love him,” Trump told reporters as the couple entered.
‘We had four fantastic years together. We may have to do it again.
‘We had four fantastic years together. “Maybe we have to do it again,” Donald Trump said as he received Polish President Andrzej Duda at Trump Tower.
Duda was one of Trump’s strongest European allies during his time in the White House. They are photographed together in 2019.
The planned dinner comes as European leaders prepare for the possibility of Trump winning the November election and returning to the White House, according to the AP.
Duda was at the White House just last month to push for more weapons for Ukraine, which shares a 330-mile border with his country.
But Trump has yet to back House Speaker Mike Johnson’s latest attempt to send $61 billion to Ukraine, including a $7.9 billion loan.
And the former president horrified world leaders in February when he said at a rally that he would “encourage” Russia to “do whatever it wants” to NATO members that do not contribute their share to the alliance’s budget, repeating the threat days after.
He has praised Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as “smart” and “cunning,” boasting that it could end the long war “within 24 hours.”
The former president has long criticized NATO members who do not meet the treaty’s requirement to spend two percent of national income on defense.
But with war on its doorstep, Poland’s spending currently stands at four percent and Duda has echoed Trump’s calls for others to contribute more.
“In the face of the war in Ukraine and Russia’s growing imperial aspirations, NATO countries must act boldly and uncompromisingly,” he said during his visit to the White House last month.
‘The war in Ukraine has clearly demonstrated that the United States is and must remain the leader on security issues in Europe and the world.
“However, other NATO countries must also take greater responsibility for the security of the entire alliance and intensively modernize and strengthen their troops.”
With the Republican nomination almost over and a narrow lead over Joe Biden in the polls, the former president has had a series of meetings with foreign leaders.
He spoke with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, had dinner with UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron, and enjoyed a one-on-one chat with Argentine President Javier Milei and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
Duda was elected president of Poland in 2015 by the populist Law and Justice Party and has long praised his former White House colleague, once proposing that a Polish military base be renamed “Fort Trump.”
British Foreign Secretary David Cameron, who once described Donald Trump as “xenophobic, misogynistic and stupid,” traveled to Mar-A-Lago last month.
The former president has been renewing friendships with other foreign leaders, including Hungary’s far-right Prime Minister Viktor Orban, whom he met in March.
Argentina’s newly elected populist president, Javier Milei, also visited Mar-A-Lago in February.
He is officially in New York for a United Nations meeting, but his cozy dinner with Trump has alarmed his opponents at home, who fear it could damage Poland’s standing with the current White House.
Poland’s newly elected centrist Prime Minister Donald Tusk said he hoped Duda would use his visit “to raise the issue of clearly siding with the Western world, democracy and Europe in this Ukrainian-Russian conflict.”
Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza said the visit would be “harmful and dangerous” and would be seen as a “slap in the face” by the Biden administration.
But Duda’s former foreign minister, Paweł Jabłoński, said it was prudent to meet the man who can determine the fate of the world after November’s general election.
“We need to talk to both sides of the political scene, especially because Donald Trump has a good chance of winning and these relationships must be maintained,” he insisted.
“International politics consists of having relations with everyone and making them the best possible.”