The Trump administration continuously hails Poland as a model ally and an example for other countries in Europe. From its perspective, Warsaw does not need to be coaxed into getting defense spending to the NATO goal of 5% of GDP and its emergence as a key European security actor is welcome. In addition, cultural conservatives in the administration and Washington see Poland as a country sharing their societal values and views on threats, as laid out in speeches by Vice President JD Vance and in the National Security Strategy, including criticism of the EU, which President Karol Nawrocki shares. The Polish-US relationship is rooted in a history of supporting each other’s fights for independence, whether Polish support for America’s Revolutionary War starting in 1776 or US support for Poland to break free from communism in the 1980s.
