Polish President Andrzej Duda has long wanted to be the first European leader to meet with the new US President Donald Trump. The two have a close relationship dating back to Trump's first term (2017-2021), during which Duda had exclusive access to the US president. Duda even paid a demonstrative visit to Trump during the 2024 election campaign. However, not every day is Christmas, so Duda's visit to the United States turned into a fiasco.
Trump kept his Polish guest waiting for an hour and a half on Saturday, February 22, 2025, and then spent less than ten minutes talking to him. The meeting was not held at the White House, but on the sidelines of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) near Washington.
Impatient Duda
Live television cameras showed Duda waiting impatiently in the VIP lounge for the late American president. The Polish president then applauded Trump's speech at the CPAC conference from the front row. During the speech, Trump called Duda a "fantastic man" and praised him for the fact that 84 percent of Poles living in the United States voted for him.
However, the difference compared to the reception that French President Emmanuel Macron had at the White House on Monday, February 24, is enormous: the guest from Paris was received with full diplomatic honors, in front of cameras and reporters, in the Oval Office. Afterwards, a joint press conference was held.
“It was a humiliation and a cold shower for the Polish president,” Jacek Niżnikiewicz wrote in the Rzeczpospolita newspaper. Trump, he claims, treated Duda as a “lame duck,” that is, a politician who leaves power and no longer has influence in his country. “In Donald Trump’s new world, Poland is not even a subject from the American perspective, let alone a key player,” the newspaper says.
However, at a press conference after his meeting with Trump, Duda tried to give the impression that the visit was a success. He stated that the US planned to increase, not reduce, its military presence in Poland and that Trump had told him "not to worry" because Poland was one of America's most loyal allies.
Duda avoided any criticism of Trump, and his chief of staff, Marcin Mastalarek, stated upon his return from Washington: “We achieved everything we wanted.” He claimed that the meeting was “very good.” The director of the Polish Institute of International Relations (PISM), Jaroslav Cwiek-Karpowicz, also defended Duda, emphasizing that the meeting was important, because “with Trump, every second counts.”
Poland in an unenviable situation
But for many, the failed visit illustrates the dilemma Poland is currently in. As a country on NATO's eastern flank, Poland sees America as the most important, if not the only, reliable guarantor of its security. At the same time, Poland has supported Ukraine in its fight against Russia from day one – regardless of who is in power in Warsaw. Because in Poland, Vladimir Putin's imperial plans are perceived as an existential threat.
Trump's new course toward Ukraine and his conciliatory gestures toward Putin are causing concern in Poland. Trump's closeness to Russia and his criticism of Ukraine put Duda's conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party in an awkward position - between admiration for Trump and loyalty to Ukraine.
Kaczynski defends J.D. Vance
After much criticism from around the world over US Vice President J.D. Vance's speech at the Munich Security Conference, PiS leader Jarosław Kaczyński has come to his defense. "Poland has a choice: either to become the leader of European rapprochement with the Trump administration, or to inspire anti-American forces in Europe," Kaczyński said. He added that Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk "is showing that he would rather be the leader of an anti-American rebellion in Europe."
It is true that Tusk's centrist government is having a hard time dealing with the new US administration. That is why Tusk participated in a conference in Paris on February 17, 2025, convened by Macron, where European countries discussed how to respond if the US stops supporting Ukraine. However, the Polish government has no intention of severing good relations with Washington.
Poland – an example in defense
The new US administration is nevertheless showing some sympathy for Poland. US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth first visited Warsaw in mid-February and was full of praise. Poland, he said, is the country that best understands the US and could be a bridge between America and Europe.
The US special envoy for Ukraine, General Keith Kellogg, also went to Warsaw first, before heading to Kiev. Poland is considered a model NATO ally – this year it plans to allocate 4,7 percent of GDP to defense, and more than 10.000 US troops are stationed on its territory. The US is also the main supplier of weapons to the Polish army, while Poland is a key logistics center for supplying Ukraine with Western weapons.
The US remains the guarantor of Polish security
From the Polish perspective, the US remains the key guarantor of security. However, recent statements by the leader of Germany's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and likely future chancellor, Friedrich Merz, have raised concerns in Warsaw. Merz said after the election that his priority is to strengthen Europe's independence from the US and that it is questionable whether NATO will even survive in its current form.
However, the Polish government and the opposition agree on one thing: no Polish soldiers should take part in a peacekeeping mission in Ukraine. With presidential elections in May and June looming, public pressure is mounting. According to a poll by the IBRiS institute, 76,2 percent of Poles oppose sending troops, while only 17,8 percent support the idea.
Despite the humiliation in Washington, Duda remains loyal to Trump. "Trump will not sell Ukraine," the Polish president told Polsat News television on Monday evening.
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