Poland’s conservative nationalist President, Karol Nawrocki is due to meet Donald Trump at the White House.
The historian turned politician had met the US President before his election, securing his highly prized endorsement and presenting himself as someone who could safeguard Poland’s interests with the conservative US administration.
When he won, Trump posted on Truth Social, “Such a great win in Poland by Karol Nawrocki. He will be a great President!”
Nawrocki’s visit to the White House on Wednesday, September 3, 2025, will be his first overseas trip since taking office last month, and the first serious test of his foreign policy credentials.
Wednesday’s talks are expected to center on stalled negotiations to end the war and Poland’s security concerns, amid signs that Trump has grown frustrated with Russian President Vladimir Putin for failing to move forward on ending the war.
He will greet Nawrocki at the White House at 11 a.m. EDT (15:00 GMT) with the two leaders to meet first in the Oval Office before a private lunch, the White House said. Poland, a member of NATO, borders both Russia and war-torn Ukraine.
Nawrocki’s Chief Foreign Policy Adviser, Marcin Przydacz, told reporters on that talks would “primarily concern security issues,” as he stressed that Poland – Nato’s top spender, for which it gets regular praise from Trump – wanted to “maintain the best possible relations with the Americans.”
Przydacz said that Nawrocki will also present Trump with the Polish view on the Ukraine war and his talks with the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, in Alaska, “pointing to the causes of this aggression and identifying the aggressor, the Russian Federation.”
The Polish President is also expected to stress to Trump the importance of keeping US forces in the region, with approximately 10,000 troops stationed in Poland and reports that the number may be under review.
The US military presence on NATO’s eastern flank, including Poland, remains one of the key issues for Warsaw, which is seeking assurances of continued support.
The meeting comes amid growing frustration on both sides of the Atlantic with what is seen as Russian attempts to obstruct efforts to end the war, with Trump repeating on Tuesday night that he was “very disappointed” in Putin.
Just hours before Trump and Nawrocki were to meet, Poland was forced to scramble its own and allied aircraft to monitor its airspace during another major night attack on Ukraine, with more than 500 strikes across the country.
Nawrocki’s Visit To Prompt Fresh Tensions
Nawrocki’s visit has prompted fresh tensions with the nation’s pro-European government led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
Nawrocki’s visit to White House exposes divisions with Poland’s government and foreign policy as it has exacerbated tensions with Tusk, the centrist Prime Minister who was formerly President of the European Council.
Nawrocki, a fierce critic of Tusk who has pledged to continue supporting Kyiv but opposes Ukraine’s membership in Nato and pushed for tightening the benefits paid out to Ukrainian refugees in Poland, signalled his intention to pursue a foreign policy independently of the government.
Shortly before the Alaska summit between Trump and Putin, he joined a leaders’ phone call with the US President sidelining Tusk, who had previously represented Poland in similar discussions. Presidential aides said that Nawrocki had got involved at Trump’s personal invitation.
The move locked Tusk out of a prestigious call, reducing his role to participating in preparatory and debriefing calls with other European leaders instead.
Poland subsequently skipped the high-level Zelenskyy-Trump meeting altogether, sending no representative to join the Ukrainian president and a group of European leaders at the White House, with both camps trading blame for the absence.
The turf war between the Polish President and Prime Minister was brought back to the spotlight before the White House visit, after Ministers repeatedly asked Nawrocki to toe the government’s line in his talks with Trump.
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