Karol Nawrocki, the Polish opposition Conservatives (PiS) candidate in the upoming presidential elections, has met US President Donald Trump in the White House, just days ahead of the ballot.
President Donald J. Trump welcomes Polish presidential candidate Karol Nawrocki to the Oval Office 🇺🇸🇵🇱 pic.twitter.com/EzjPgygMxI
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 2, 2025
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According to Nawrocki during their meeting on May 1, Trump told him, “You will win,” which the PiS candidate said he took as the President wishing him “success in the election”.
Nawrocki is currently polling a close second to Rafał Trzaskowski, the candidate supported by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, ahead of the first round of voting due on May 18, with the decisive second round run-off between the top two candidates due on June 1.
The current PiS-aligned Polish President Andrzej Duda, who is stepping down having served the maximum of two terms in office allowed under the Polish Constitution, has enjoyed good relations with Trump and has backed his efforts to end the war in Ukraine.
Nawrocki, during his election campaign, has said he doubted Ukraine was ready to join the European Union. He has expressed disappointment at the Ukrainian stance over such matters as the refusal to recognise that the slaughter of a 100,000 Poles in Volhynia during the Second World War was an act of genocide.
During his visit to Washington, Nawrocki also had meetings with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson and Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee Jim Jordan.
Nawrocki told Polish independent Conservative broadcaster TV Republika that during visit, his hosts asked about the dispute over rule-of-law compliance by Poland’s Tusk-led government.
“I came away from these meetings and discussions with the impression that members of Congress and State officials are fully aware of what is happening in Poland, particularly in regard to the judiciary and the erosion of the rule of law in the Polish State,” said Nawrocki.
He pitched himself firmly as the election candidate who would seek to make relations with US closer, a bold move given the latest survey on Polish-US relations showed that unequivocal support for Washington among Poles may be a thing of the past.
“Poland now needs a president who can ensure strong Polish-American relations. The current Polish Government, led by Donald Tusk, has brought these relations into a difficult situation, which was echoed during my visit to the White House,” Nawrocki said.
He was referring to rumours that the Tusk government was reviewing some of the US arms purchases contracted during the lifetime of the last PiS government (2015-2023) and that both Tusk and foreign minister Radosław Sikorski have previously made highly derogatory remarks about the US President.
The PiS candidate stressed the importance of the alliance with the US together with Polish rearmament.
“There are 10,000 American soldiers stationed in Poland. What matters most is that we build the potential of our Armed Forces. We will only be strong once we have strengthened our military capabilities, fulfilled our American defence contracts, and built an army of at least 300,000 soldiers,” Nawrocki said.
But he added that, during his meetings in the White House, he had also raised Poland’s disappointment over the way it was being treated by Washington with regard to new technologies.
“I also brought up the fact that Poland has been placed in the second tier of countries eligible to receive microchip technologies, a decision that Poles do not understand. I asked members of Congress and state officials to reconsider this.
“Poland is a key US ally and, in the realm of technology, investment, and national development plans, we would like to be included in the top tier of partner countries,” Nawrocki argued.
The Tusk government has denied that there were any problems in its relationship with the US. Speaking to the government-controlled and State-owned broadcaster Radio Trójka, Undersecretary of State in the Ministry of Climate and Environment Miłosz Motyka attacked Nawrocki for being what he said was “disloyal” during the visit in the White House.
“Poland is actually signing new agreements on both energy and defence with the US,” Motyka said and criticised Nawrocki “for attempting to undermine good relations”.
He was referring to the US approving the proposed sale of 400 AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM) along with associated equipment and logistical support for an estimated cost of $1.33 billion announced on April 30.
Motyka was also alluding to last month’s signing of a co-operation deal that will see US company Westinghouse build Poland’s first nuclear power station.
