Poland’s President arrives at Trump Tower to meet with Republican as European leaders prepare for former president’s potential White House win

Poland’s president became the latest foreign leader to push his way to Donald Trump’s door last night as the world prepared for his possible return to the White House.

Andrzej Duda was greeted like an old friend when he arrived at Trump Tower, where the former president is staying while his criminal trial over alleged hush money payments begins in New York.

The two men have been longtime allies, but Duda was eager to win his support for more military aid to Ukraine amid continued Republican hostility to a new aid package.

“This gentleman is doing a fantastic job, the people of Poland love him, they really do,” Trump told reporters as the couple entered.

‘We had four great years together. Maybe we should do it again.’

Duda was one of Trump’s strongest European allies during his time in the White House. They are pictured together in 2019

Duda was at the White House last month to argue for more weapons for Ukraine, which shares a 530-kilometer border with his country.

But Trump has not yet backed House Speaker Mike Johnson’s latest effort to send $61 billion to Ukraine, including a $7.9 billion loan.

And the former president shocked world leaders in February when he told a rally that he would “encourage” Russia to “do whatever they want” against NATO members who do not contribute their share of the alliance’s budget – meaning he repeated the threat days later.

He has hailed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as “smart” and “clever” and boasted that he could bring the long-running war to an end “within 24 hours.”

The ex-president has long protested against NATO members failing to meet the treaty requirement to spend two percent of national income on defense.

But with the war raging on its doorstep, Polish spending currently stands at four percent and Duda has echoed Trump’s call for others to contribute more.

“In light of the war in Ukraine and Russia’s growing imperial aspirations, NATO countries must act courageously and without compromise,” 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.

“But 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 all but finalized and a narrow lead over Joe Biden in the polls, the former president has had a series of meetings with foreign leaders.

He has spoken with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, dined with British Foreign Secretary David Cameron and enjoyed one-on-one meetings with Argentine President Javier Milei and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

Duda was elected president of Poland in 2015 over the populist Law and Justice Party and has long praised his former White House colleague, once proposing to rename a Polish military base “Fort Trump.”

British Foreign Secretary David Cameron, who once described Donald Trump as “xenophobic, misogynistic and stupid,” took a trip to Mar-A-Lago last month

The former president has renewed contacts with other foreign leaders, including Hungary’s far-right Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, 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 pleasant dinner with Trump has alarmed opponents at home, who fear it could damage Poland’s standing at 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 the clear side of the Western world, democracy and Europe in this Ukrainian-Russian conflict.” .

Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza said the visit would be “damaging 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 wise to meet the man who could decide 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 relations must be maintained,” he stressed.

‘International politics is about having relationships with everyone and having them as best as possible.’