Former President Donald Trump recently hosted Polish President Andrzej Duda for a dinner in New York City, marking the latest sign that European leaders brace for a potential second Trump administration.
The REAL president meets with Polish leader in Trump Towerhttps://t.co/TCmLBM5KFi
— RSBN 🇺🇸 (@RSBNetwork) April 18, 2024
Trump met with the Polish president hours after leaving a court in Manhattan, where he faces trial for allegedly providing adult actress Stormy Daniels with hush money payments.
The pair reportedly discussed the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and Duda’s push to boost the defense spending of member nations of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
The Associated Press (AP) pointed out that Duda has long admired the former president and supports Ukraine. The Polish president has even encouraged the U.S. government to send more aid to Ukraine, but such funding has been held up by Republicans in Congress.
When Duda arrived at Trump Tower in New York City, the former president praised him, saying, “He’s done a fantastic job and he’s my friend.”
“We had four years together,” Trump added. “We’re behind Poland all the way.”
After the meeting, which lasted over 2 hours, Duda said it was a “friendly meeting” in a “very nice atmosphere.”
The Polish president’s aide, Wojciech Kolarski, described it as an “excellent meeting” between “two friends who reminisced on the time when for four years they cooperated while holding presidential offices,” adding that Trump’s tenure was “very fruitful for Polish-U.S. relations.”
Duda is the latest foreign leader to meet with Trump weeks after he locked up the GOP presidential nomination. The visit comes as the former president stands trial for one of the four criminal indictments against him.
Trump and President Joe Biden are expected to again battle for the presidency, with many believing that the forthcoming presidential election will be close.
Although some officials in Poland believed that the meeting could damage the European country’s relationship with Biden, Democrats in Congress said the visit made sense.
“The polls are close,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) said. “If I were a foreign leader — and there’s precedent attached to meeting with candidates who are nominated or on the path to being nominated — I’d probably do it too.”
Murphy pointed out that former President Barack Obama repeatedly met with foreign leaders while running for president.
