The European Country That Figured Out Trump’s White House

Get audio access with any FP subscription. Welcome to FP Free Week. To celebrate America’s 250th birthday, our entire site is completely unlocked this week only. Enjoy the article. If politics with the Trump administration were a baseball game, most European countries would be striking out—with one exception. Poland, Europe’s rising military and economic power, seems to be coping with every curveball the United States throws its way, and even managing the occasional home run. Some of its successes are due to tactics that any other European nation could replicate: amping up military spending, particularly on U.S. weapons; supporting U.S. policy; and making high-profile, high-dollar business deals with nuclear energy companies. If politics with the Trump administration were a baseball game, most European countries would be striking out—with one exception. Poland, Europe’s rising military and economic power, seems to be coping with every curveball the United States throws its way, and even managing the occasional home run. Some of its successes are due to tactics that any other European nation could replicate: amping up military spending, particularly on U.S. weapons; supporting U.S. policy; and making high-profile, high-dollar business deals with nuclear energy companies. But perhaps the most important factor is the ideological similarity between MAGA and top Polish politicians—from anti-EU rhetoric to hard-line immigration policy—as well as the personal relationship between U.S. President Donald Trump and Poland’s amateur boxer turned president, Karol Nawrocki. Poland’s most recent win occurred in May, when it successfully lobbied the Trump administration to reverse a Defense Department decision to draw down U.S. troop numbers in Poland. The move contrasted with Germany and Romania, which both saw troop drawdowns amid a Pentagon policy aimed at divesting military forces from Europe. The Department of Defense has separately said that Poland, thanks to its already high defense spending, will be among the countries deemed “model allies” that will receive unspecified “special favor” from the Trump administration. It’s an idea that has gained more currency recently thanks to Trump’s desire to punish allies viewed as being unhelpful on the war in Iran and to reward allies that fall in line. In the diplomatic world, meanwhile, Poland earned a rare public statement in 2025 from Trump condemning Russian drone incursions into Poland. Now, Poland is pushing for the United States to make its presence permanent in Poland through the construction of “Fort Trump”—a scheme first proposed during Trump’s first term. On Sunday, Poland’s defense minister said that U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had responded “positively” and that talks had advanced to their next stage. Some of the positive relationship may be chalked up to good fundamentals, like defense spending, said Marek Magierowski, who served as Poland’s ambassador to the United States under the Biden administration. Poland has rapidly increased military spending, hitting 4.48 percent of its GDP on defense in 2025, the highest among NATO-member countries. That insulates Poland from Trump’s long-standing complaint about low NATO-member defense spending. Even better, much of that spending has gone to huge purchases of U.S. weapons. Among those deals are $4.7 billion for helicopters, $4.6 billion for F-35s, and an estimated $10 billion in HIMARS rocket launchers. That’s “quite important” for cultivating support among Congress, Magierowski said. Warsaw has also been an enthusiastic player in supporting the administration’s economic interests, most notably through a $25 billion-plus deal with a consortium of U.S. companies to build a nuclear power plant in Poland. Poland also has increasing ties to the U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry, with Poland positioning itself as a hub for the distribution of U.S. LNG to its neighbors. Poland also raised its profile in Washington prior to the second Trump administration by its prominent assistance in supporting Ukraine, said Magierowski, noting Poland’s help in housing Ukrainian refugees. Poland’s work “solidified our position and perception about Poland in the American public opinion,” Magierowski said. Poland’s diaspora in the United States may also help—more than 8 million Americans claim Polish descent—although Philip Bednarczyk, the Warsaw office director for the German Marshall Fund, discounted their direct impact. “Poland never really had a great presence in D.C.,” Bednarczyk said. Still, other countries have played similar roles and not reaped quite as many rewards. Germany, for example, was also among the nations listed by the Defense Department as set to receive benefits for its increased defense spending. After a spat over the Iran war, though, the United States said it was withdrawing some troops from Germany. Romania likewise has spent heavily on U.S. weaponry and long supported the U.S. milit

The European Country That Figured Out Trump’s White House

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The European Country That Figured Out Trump’s White House

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