Former President Donald Trump met with Polish President Andrzej Duda for dinner Wednesday evening at Trump Tower in Manhattan.
The two discussed the Ukraine-Russia war, the Israel-Hamas war, and “many other topics having to do with getting to world peace,” according to a readout of the meeting, as reported by the New York Post.
“He’s doing a fantastic job,” Trump reportedly said of Duda, describing him as “my friend” as they entered Trump Tower.
“We may have to do it again. We’ve had a very good and personal relationship. Never had even a problem, not even a minor problem, we agree on so much,” he reportedly added.
President @realDonaldTrump welcomes President Andrzej Duda of Poland to Trump Tower pic.twitter.com/YFqUgbqpwV
— Margo Martin (@margommartin) April 17, 2024
One of the key topics the two men broached was NATO spending.
The duo “discussed President Duda’s proposal for NATO countries to go to three percent spending on their defense,” according to the readout.
Trump “fondly recalled his landmark trip to Poland in 2017 and praised the Polish people for steadfast defense of their sovereignty and to their commitment to the security of Europe’s borders from any and all threats,” the readout continues.
Currently NATO countries, on average, spend only two percent of their GDP. Duda reportedly pushed his proposal for a three percent rate to President Joe Biden during a March meeting.
“Two percent was good ten years ago,” he said at the time. “Now three percent is required in response to the full-scale war launched by Russia right beyond NATO’s eastern border.”
Duda also pushed the proposal in an op-ed for The Liberal Washington Post published last month.
“Ten years ago, at the NATO summit in Newport, Wales, all allies pledged to spend at least 2 percent of their annual GDP on defense,” he wrote. “I believe that, because of growing threats, the time has come to increase that number to 3 percent of GDP.”
“I intend to persuade our allies to do so, in both America and Europe. I am glad that, having already well-surpassed that minimum, the United States and Poland can lead by example and provide an inspiration for others,” he added.
[President of Poland] https://t.co/wICxbppT2e pic.twitter.com/ZLBABkmpWI
— Norman Spector (@nspector4) March 12, 2024
While both Trump and Duda agree that more NATO spending is needed, they don’t share Duda’s passion for Ukraine.
“Duda, whose term ends in 2025, has pushed the Biden administration to provide more aid to Ukraine, which borders Poland,” according to Politico.
Trump, meanwhile, has been trying to condition any additional aid as a zero-interest loan with an unlimited lifespan.
“We’re looking at it right now, and they’re talking about it, and we’re thinking about making it in the form of a loan instead of just a gift,” he said alongside Speaker Mike Johnson during a press conference last week at Mar-a-Lago.
Listen:
Trump says any aid to Ukraine needs to be given “in the form of a loan—not a gift”
Calls on Europe to step up and take on funding of the war pic.twitter.com/OhsZqnebhQ
— johnny maga (@_johnnymaga) April 12, 2024
Despite their differing outlook on Ukraine, both Trump and Duda are reportedly good friends.
“Trump and Duda have long had a warm relationship,” Politico notes. “Duda has once proposed naming a military base in Poland ‘Fort Trump’ and he visited the White House in 2020, when Trump was in the middle of his reelection campaign.”
However, Duda has faced pushback at home because of his friendly ties with Trump.
“Duda’s favorable approach toward Trump has been a source of controversy in Poland, where fears of Russia run high and support for NATO is strong,” according to the Associated Press, which added that he faced mockery for the “Fort Trump” area.
“Duda was also criticized after Trump tweeted a photo after a 2018 meeting at the White House that some saw as showing Duda, and therefore Poland, in a subservient position,” the AP notes.
But Duda’s supporters argued in favor of the most recent Trump meeting, saying there’s value in meeting a politician out of power.
“We need to talk to both sides of the political scene, especially since Donald Trump has a good chance of winning and these relations must be maintained,” Paweł Jabłoński, a former foreign minister who belongs to Duda’s conservative political camp, said in an interview. “International politics is about having relationships with everyone and having them as good as possible.”
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Author: Vivek Saxena
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