When at the end of April, the US Congress unblocked 60.8 billion dollar aid package to Ukraine, lawmakers from Poland’s opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party were quick to announce that it was due to the influence of one of their own, President Andrzej Duda, who met with Trump just days earlier. He also met with House Speaker Mike Johnson.
“Big applause for President Andrzej Duda, who has acquired powerful resources to fight against Russian imperialism,” PiS representative Dariusz Mateckis wrote to X.
“President Andrzej Duda can fully enjoy a job well done for Poland and the entire region,” added Marcin Przydacz, another PiS member.
The meeting coincided with policy changes by Trump and Republicans
Although Poland is quite politically divided, it is agreed that the Polish leadership needs to please Trump.
This is because both sides agree on the danger posed by Russia and the danger that the US will withdraw from NATO and abandon Europe if Trump wins the election.
However, to the horror of PiS, the story of A. Duda’s triumph quickly turned into a Polish joke, and jokes were made about it.
But jokes aside, Duda’s meeting coincided with a policy shift by Trump and Republicans on aid to Ukraine.
A day after the meeting, Trump, who has previously spoken favorably of Putin and blamed Ukraine for his political woes, posted on his social media platform: “As everyone agrees, the survival and strength of Ukraine should be far more important to Europe than to us, but it’s important to us too!”
Is it possible to change US policy from abroad?
D. Trump, as the publication writes, likes to stroke his ego, and PiS and A. Duda already have a lot of experience in talking to D. Trump. D. Trump likes PiS and openly expresses his sympathy for A. Duda.
“Nevertheless, A. Duda’s role can be overemphasized. US politics is rarely dramatically changed by outsiders.
EU lawmaker Andrzej Halickis, Mr. Tusk’s right-hand man in Brussels, laughed at the idea that Mr. Duda and PiS could single-handedly change Mr. Trump’s opinion on Ukraine,” the article reads.
But Tusk’s government sees an advantage in having Trump’s attention.
“Sometimes you have to play several pianos and use various diplomatic channels to get what you want,” says A. Halickis.
However, most political analysts agree that A. Duda’s meeting with D. Trump and the latter’s subsequent change in tone on the Ukraine issue were caused by circumstances other than Polish persuasion.
