Trump plans appearance with Polish president, claims he will 'probably' meet Zelensky next week.
Former U.S. President and current Republican candidate Donald Trump is reportedly planning a joint appearance with Polish President Andrzej Duda and believes he will "probably" meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky next week, Trump and sources close to him said on Sept.
18. Foreign leaders, including Zelensky and Duda, are convening in New York City over the next few days for the 79th General Assembly of the United Nations.
"Probably, yes," Trump answered when asked by a reporter if he plans to meet Zelensky during his visit to the U.S. He did not provide additional details on any planned meeting. Trump is also planning a joint appearance with Duda at a monument at a Polish-American Roman Catholic shrine near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, sources familiar with the arrangements told Reuters on Sept.
18. The plans are not yet finalized, the sources said. If the joint appearance goes forward, "there will definitely be an opportunity to exchange a few words and talk about the most important topics," the source said.
Malgorzata Paprocka, an aide to Duda, said that Duda's office did not initiate a meeting with Trump. Organizers invited both Duda and Trump to the unveiling of the monument, and it was not clear if Trump would in fact attend, she said.
Politico: Poland has a secret weapon to turn Donald Trump against Russia "Duda is our Republican whisperer," Michal Baranowski, who leads the German Marshall Fund's Poland office, told Politico.
Pennsylvania is a battleground state in the U.S. presidential election and boasts a large Polish-American population.
Vice President Kamala Harris leveraged the Polish-American community in a critique of Trump during the Sept.
10 debate, also held in Pennsylvania. "Why don't you tell the 800,000 Polish Americans right here in Pennsylvania how quickly you would give up for the sake of favor and what you think is a friendship with what is known to be a dictator who would eat you for lunch," she said. Duda, a nationalist politician, has expressed staunch support for Ukraine's defense against Russia while maintaining that Poland's interests come first and forging close ties with Trump and other U.S.
Republicans. Trump and Duda met in New York City in April to discuss a range of foreign policy issues, including Russia's war against Ukraine. During the debate against Harris, Trump refused to say outright that he hopes Ukraine will defeat Russia.
Trump and Zelensky have not met in person since Trump's first term in office. Zelensky spoke with Trump via phone on July 19. Zelensky said in August that during his September visit to the U.S., he intends to present the details of his Victory Plan for Ukraine to U.S.
President Joe Biden as well as to presidential candidates Harris and Trump.