Former President Donald Trump welcomed Polish President Andrzej Duda to Trump Tower on Wednesday evening, as reported by U.S. News & World Report.
Trump, who is currently residing in New York City during his hush money trial, has been meeting with several foreign leaders in recent weeks following his securing of the GOP presidential nomination. Last week, Trump had a meeting with British Foreign Secretary David Cameron at Mar-a-Lago.
Speaking of Duda, Trump praised his leadership, stating, “He’s doing a fantastic job. The people of Poland love him; they really do.”
Highlighting their friendship, Trump remarked, “He’s my friend, and we had four great years together.”
During a visit to the White House in 2020, Duda proposed naming a military base in Poland “Fort Trump.” While the two leaders share a positive relationship, discussions during their meeting are expected to include the situation in Ukraine. Poland, as a NATO member and neighbor of Ukraine, has been advocating for increased aid to Ukraine, fearing Russian aggression. However, Trump’s Republican allies in the House have linked Ukraine aid to U.S. border security measures.
Duda expressed gratitude for the invitation to Trump’s private apartment, emphasizing the importance of maintaining strong relations between countries. “We know each other as people. Like two, I can say in some way, friends,” Duda stated.
While Trump has been critical of NATO countries’ defense spending, Duda mentioned that he has not discussed his proposal to increase defense spending with Trump directly but believes Trump would view it positively.
In addition to meeting with Duda, Trump reportedly also had discussions with Hungarian President Viktor Orban and a phone call with Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, according to The New York Times.
