Poland has secret weapon to shift Donald Trump against Russian leader

The Polish government believes it has a secret weapon to shift Donald Trump against Russian leader Vladimir Putin — the country's out-of-power populists.

When the US Congress unblocked a $60.8 billion aid package to Ukraine in late April, lawmakers from Poland's now-opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party were quick to proclaim that it was thanks to the influence of one of their own, President Andrzej Duda, who just days earlier met with Trump in his gold-studded eponymous tower in New York for a two-and-half-hour chat to discuss Ukraine’s military needs, as well as meeting with House Speaker Mike Johnson, according to Politico.

"A big round of applause for President Andrzej Duda, who has gained powerful resources to fight Russian imperialism," Dariusz Matecki, a PiS lawmaker, wrote on X.

“President Andrzej Duda can have a full sense of a job well done for Poland and the entire region,” added Marcin Przydacz, another PiS MP.

And in politically divided Poland — where the government led by PM Donald Tusk and PiS war over everything from the EU to abortion, public television, rule of law, a project to build a new airport and even electric cars — there is rare agreement on the need to butter up Trump.

"I trust that during the New York meeting the president took the Polish government's recommendation and presented the Polish point of view on security issues," tweeted Tusk, an old foe of Duda's. "In these matters we need maximum agreement and minimum controversy."

The reason is that both sides are united on the risk posed by Russia, and on the danger of the US pulling out of NATO and abandoning Europe under a second Trump presidency.

But Poland's overriding national interest can be difficult to translate in the US

To the dismay of PiS, the narrative of Duda's triumph quickly turned into a Polish joke, immortalized in countless Polish memes and even a song, while "The Late Show" host Stephen Colbert mocked the Polish president for “sucking up to Trump” and meeting with him “all the doodah day.”