Fort Trump? Polish leader dangles offer to president

“I said that I would very much like for us to set up a permanent American base in Poland which we would call Fort Trump. And I firmly believe that this is possible.”

WASHINGTON — Poland’s leader pressed President Donald Trump on Tuesday to consider creating a permanent American military base in Poland, offering a tempting incentive: The installation would be called “Fort Trump.”

Polish President Andrzej Duda extended the invitation during a one-on-one meeting with Trump at the White House that focused heavily on the U.S. presence in Poland as the country faces Russia’s increased military activities in the region.

Trump said he was considering the idea and noted that Poland had offered more than $2 billion to the U.S. to pay for such an effort. Duda came away confident that he had taken a major step toward lining up a permanent American military base.

“I said that I would very much like for us to set up a permanent American base in Poland which we would call Fort Trump,” Duda said through a translator, Polish President Andrzej Duda

prompting Trump to raise his eyebrows and smile. “And I firmly believe that this is possible.”

Seeking a check on Russian aggression, Poland wants the 3,000 U.S. troops now deployed in Poland on a rotating basis to be upgraded to a larger, permanent presence. A decision from the U.S. could come early next year.

Duda credited Trump for making Warsaw the first stop on the U.S. president’s inaugural European trip last year and said Trump’s outdoor address in Poland was a “very important moment” for the two countries.

Trump said the two leaders agreed to bolster defense, energy and commercial ties, adding that the alliance between the two countries has “never been stronger.”

Meanwhile, European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans said Tuesday in Brussels that Poland’s government appears to have taken new steps recently that could undermine the independence of its judiciary.

The EU’s executive body has launched a rule-oflaw procedure against the government over what it considers to be the erosion of judicial independence. The move could strip Poland of its EU voting rights.