President Trump welcomed Polish President Karol Nawrocki to the White House on Wednesday, the second time the two conservatives have met.
This is Mr. Nawrocki’s first trip overseas since taking office last month. Mr. Trump met with him previously in May ahead of the election to express his support.
The two will discuss relations between the U.S. and Poland, whose strong military aims to deter possible threats from Russia.
Mr. Nawrocki, a historian and former director of the Institute of National Remembrance, is a newcomer to politics. He ran as an independent, but was backed by the right-wing Law and Justice party.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters in May that Mr. Trump predicted he would win because he supports common sense.
“He supported strong borders in Poland. He supported an end to the woke, radical DEI stuff that we’ve seen, not just here in the United States, but really the takeover in Europe and, frankly, the whole world,” Ms. Leavitt said.
She added, “He’s very outspoken about that. And I was reading the reports about how Polish people felt about this ban, and they felt like he was putting the needs of Poland first, and that’s a very refreshing feeling, one that we know very well here in the United States of America.”
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem traveled to the European country ahead of the election to make the case for Mr. Nawrocki, saying it could lead to stronger ties between the U.S. and Poland.
Mr. Nawrocki told Polish media after his May meeting with Mr. Trump that he “read it as a kind of wish for my success in the upcoming elections and also awareness of it, and after this whole day, I can say that the American administration is aware of what is happening in Poland.”
After Mr. Nawrocki was elected, Mr. Trump congratulated him on social media: “’TRUMP ALLY WINS IN POLAND, SHOCKING ALL IN EUROPE.’ Congratulations Poland, you picked a WINNER!”
A presidential delegation from the U.S. traveled to Poland for Mr. Nawrocki’s inauguration last month.
Mr. Trump has been increasingly frustrated with two of Poland’s neighbors — Russia and Ukraine — over their continued war.
Currently 10,000 U.S. personnel are on rotation in Poland, according to the State Department.
The president visited Poland once during his first term in 2017, when he met with Mr. Nawrocki’s predecessor, Andrzej Duda. During their bilateral sit-down in Warsaw, Mr. Trump praised the two countries’ military relationship. He also lauded Poland for being a leader in NATO spending.
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.