NEW YORK (AP) — Former President donald trump I met him in New York on Wednesday. President Andrzej Duda of Polandthe latest in a series of meetings with foreign leaders as Europe prepares for a possible second Trump term.
The presumptive Republican nominee invited Duda to a dinner at Trump Tower, where the two were scheduled to discuss, among other things, Ukraine. Mr. Duda has long expressed admiration for Mr. Trump, but he is also an ardent supporter of Ukraine and has encouraged Washington to provide more aid to Kiev. Russian invasion continues. That money is being withheld by Trump's allies in Congress.
Upon arrival, President Trump praised the Polish president, saying, “He did a great job. He's a friend of mine.”
Trump added: “We've had four great years together.” “We are far behind Poland.”
U.S. allies around the world were caught off guard by Trump's surprise victory in 2016, forcing them to scramble to build relationships with a president who often attacks long-standing treaties and alliances they hold dear. lost. Setting up a meeting with him during the 2024 election period suggests they don't want to fall behind again.
Despite being on trial on one of the four criminal charges against Trump, Trump and Democratic President Joe Biden are locked in a rematch, with most observers predicting a very close race in November. I predict that it will.
“The polls are close,” said Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a Biden ally and the party's leading voice on foreign affairs. “If I were a foreign leader, and there was a precedent for meeting with candidates who have been nominated or are in the process of being nominated, I would probably do that, too.”
Murphy noted that former President Barack Obama undertook an extensive international tour and met with foreign leaders when he first ran for the White House. So did former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who challenged Mr. Obama in 2012 and also stopped in Warsaw, the capital of Poland.
Duda's visit comes One week after President Trump met with British Foreign Secretary David Cameron, Another NATO member and leading proponent of support for Ukraine is at the former president's mansion in Florida.
And last month, President Trump invited Hungarians Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a dictator who has maintained the closest ties with Russia among the European Union countries. Mr. Orban shared a montage of footage from the visit on his Instagram feed, including images of himself and his staff meeting with Mr. Trump and other members of the former president's inner circle in what appeared to be formal bilateral meetings. It was included.
President Trump also briefly met with Argentina's fiercely right-wing populist President Javier Milay in February. Campaign inspired by Trump, wearing a red “Make Argentina Great Again” hat.Mirei gave it to me President Trump excitedly hugs backstage at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference in suburban Washington, according to a video posted by a Trump campaign aide.
Biden administration officials have been careful not to publicly evaluate foreign leaders' meetings with Trump, who they acknowledge have a real chance of winning the election.
U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, frequently meet with foreign rebels in various U.S. forums, although some officials have privately expressed dissatisfaction with such meetings. Therefore, it is mindful that any criticism could subject the United States to charges of hypocrisy. And overseas.
Security and policy officials monitor the travel plans of foreign officials visiting the United States, but generally do not know where they go or who they meet, according to a government official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the ceremony. He says he has no say in the matter.
President Trump is returning to his hometown this week for his presidential inauguration. criminal hush money trialAs a result, his ability to travel and campaign is severely restricted. While in town, his aides planned a series of events that began Tuesday night, with President Trump speaking after court adjourned. I stopped at a bodega in Harlem. There, a man was killed in order to denounce the crime and to criticize the local prosecutor who brought the first former president in U.S. history to a criminal trial.
Duda, a right-wing populist who once proposed naming his country's military base “Fort Trump,” said the dinner earlier Wednesday was a gathering of friends at Trump's former residence while he was in town for a United Nations conference. He explained that it was a private gathering. .
“I was invited to Donald Trump's private apartment,” Duda told reporters, adding that when a country has good relations with another country, he describes the relationship as “both countries.” It is “normal practice'' to want to make it as strong as possible.'' They are representatives from various positions on the political stage. ”
He explained the friendship he had built with Trump over many years of cooperation.
“We know each other as people. We are, in a sense, friends,” said Duda, whose term ends in 2025.
Duda's visit includes: House Republicans fight over $95 billion foreign aid bill It would provide new funding to Ukraine, including money to replace the U.S. military's depleting arms supplies.
Many Trump supporters in the House of Representatives strongly oppose aid to Ukraine. country warns This means that they are struggling amid Russia's new offensive. President Trump has said he may be open to assistance in the form of loans.
Like Cameron, Mr. Duda's efforts to get the U.S. to approve additional aid share common objectives with Mr. Biden, who has struggled for six months to secure additional congressional funding.
One area of agreement between Mr. Trump and Mr. Duda on the conflict is efforts to encourage NATO members to increase defense spending.Duda is I called out to my allies in the alliance. As Russia continues its invasion of Ukraine, it aims to raise spending to 3% of gross domestic product. This is a significant increase from the current commitment of 2% by 2024.
In a stunning break with past U.S. precedent, President Trump has long been critical of Western alliances, threatening not to defend member states that fail to meet spending targets.The threat strikes at the heart of the Alliance. Article 5stipulates that an attack against one NATO member state is considered an attack against all NATO member states.
In February, President Trump went even further, recalling that he once told leaders: “Encourage” Russia In his words, he can “do whatever he wants” to members who have fallen into “delinquency.”
Mr. Duda indicated that he would take up his proposal at the dinner.
“I have not spoken to President Donald Trump about my proposal to increase defense spending for NATO countries from 2% to 3% of gross domestic product (GDP), but I think his approach to it will be positive,” he said. I think it will be.”
I visited There was a mixed reaction in Poland.the friendship between Mr. Duda and Mr. Trump has become a source of controversy as concerns about Russia grow.
Duda's political opponent, Poland's centrist Prime Minister Donald Tusk, was critical of the banquet, saying that Duda was “clearly asking the Western world, democracy and Europe about this relationship between Ukraine and Russia.” “I hope that they will use this as an opportunity to raise the issue of taking sides with the US.” Conflict. “
Duda said he was not worried because the president regularly meets with various politicians during his travels abroad.
“No, I'm not worried, because presidents meet with their colleagues, especially those who have held the office of president in their respective countries,” he said. “This is normal practice, nothing special.”
___
Ms. Szyślovska reported from Warsaw. Associated Press writers Matthew Lee, Zeke Miller and Seung-min Kim in Washington contributed to this report.
