Trump looks for friendlier European hosts
• President Donald Trump is headed back to Europe hoping to receive a friendly welcome in Poland despite lingering skepticism across the continent over his commitment to NATO, his past praise of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his decision to pull the U.S. out of a major climate agreement.
Trump arrives in Warsaw later Wednesday for a brief visit that will include a speech in Krasinski Square, near the site of the 1944 Warsaw Uprising against the Nazis. He’ll also meet with the leaders of Poland and Croatia and hold a joint press conference with Polish President Andrzej Duda.
Duda told Poland’s TVN24 Wednesday that his talks with Trump will not be “some general talk about world security” but will tackle such concrete issues as energy security for a region still dependent on gas and oil deliveries from Russia.
Before moving on to the G20 summit in Germany, the U.S. president will also hold meetings with the leaders of a dozen countries located between the Baltic, Adriatic and Black seas at a summit of the Three Seas Initiative, which aims to expand and modernize energy and trade. One of the initiative’s goals is to make the region less dependent on Russian energy.
Trump returns to Europe after a shaky first trip to the continent in May and signs of unhappiness around the globe with the start of his presidency.
A recent Pew Research Center survey of attitudes toward Trump in more than three dozen countries found fewer than three in 10 respondents expressing confidence in his ability to do the right thing on international affairs.
Trump’s first trip to Europe as president in May saw a series of awkward encounters. But Poland may offer Trump a chance to shine.
According to Polish media reports, Poland’s government promised the White House a reception of cheering crowds as part of its invitation. To make good on that pledge, ruling party lawmakers and pro-government activists plan to bus in groups from the provinces to hear Trump’s speech.
The White House didn’t respond to a request for comment on those reports.
With Trump’s sights already set on the 2020 election, his visit to Poland could also be seen as a power play for such battleground states as Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, which are home to hundreds of thousands of Polish-American voters.
Trump may also seek to use Poland as an exemplar of partnership. A U.S. ally in Iraq and Afghanistan, Poland is one of the five NATO members that spend at least two per cent of their gross domestic product on the military.
Poland is also host to about 1,000 U.S. troops, and is supporting U.S. and NATO forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. It’s also a regular customer for U.S. military equipment.
Before Trump’s arrival, Poland’s government emphasized that Russia’s aggression in Ukraine poses a threat to the whole of Europe, something that will inevitably be raised in discussions with Trump as Europeans seek to gauge the president’s willingness to confront Putin before their first face-to-face meeting later this week.
“Poland is, in some ways, a poster child for some of the issues that the Trump administration has been stressing,” said Jeffrey Rathke, deputy director of the Europe Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.