Nawrocki receives Trump's backing on troops as Warsaw pushes for 15,000 US soldiers in Poland

Talks at the White House

President Karol Nawrocki arrived in Washington on Saturday evening, 13 June, at the invitation of Donald Trump, who was celebrating his 80th birthday. The following day, Nawrocki attended a UFC Freedom 250 gala held on the White House grounds, where he held a conversation with the US president. Marcin Przydacz, head of the Polish President’s International Policy Bureau, told reporters that Trump used the meeting to confirm his earlier declaration, made at the end of May, to send an additional 5,000 American troops to Poland.

The declaration was upheld during yesterday’s talks. Now those declarations need to be filled with concrete decisions at the strategic and planning level by the Pentagon and the Ministry of National Defence.

On Monday, Nawrocki continued his schedule with a meeting with Mike Waltz, the US permanent representative to the United Nations, and a visit to Capitol Hill for talks with Senate Republican leader John Thune and members of Senate committees.

What Poland is asking for

Poland currently hosts around 10,000 American soldiers. In May, the Pentagon suspended the rotation of roughly 4,000 of those troops, but Trump’s announcement of 5,000 additional forces was understood by Warsaw as a net increase. Przydacz made clear that Poland is now pursuing a significantly larger permanent presence.

Our ambitions reach 15,000; the minimum version is 11,000, which is still more than before, because so far there were 10,000. We are moving in the space between 11 and 15 thousand. Final decisions are still ahead of us.

Warsaw sees the Pentagon’s ongoing overhaul of US force structure in Europe as an opportunity to lock in higher numbers. The goal is to convert the current rotational deployment into a permanent one, a shift that would require new bilateral agreements, infrastructure, and decisions from both the White House and the Polish defence ministry.

Next steps in Warsaw and Washington

Upon returning to Poland, Nawrocki plans to invite Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz to the Presidential Palace to share information gathered in the US and to coordinate concrete steps. Przydacz stressed that, regardless of the Pentagon’s planning process, the final call on troop levels rests with Donald Trump personally.

Even if the Pentagon, the State Department or any other institutions are open and would like to agree, the final decision will be made by President Trump. That is why it is worth investing in good personal relations.

He added that the turbulence caused by planned changes to America’s European posture, especially in Western Europe, should not and will not affect Poland. According to Przydacz, Trump confirmed that Poland is a model ally and that the US presence there will be preserved.

The wider European context

The Polish push comes as the Pentagon prepares a comprehensive new structure for US forces across Europe. Przydacz indicated that future American decisions are likely to go beyond the two known items (the additional 5,000 troops and the un-suspension of the brigade rotation) and will instead reflect a broader redesign. Warsaw’s strategy is to position itself as the primary beneficiary of that redesign, arguing that its reliability as a NATO partner merits a concentration of forward-deployed American power on its territory.

Both capitals will now work through the technical details, but the political commitment from Trump, reaffirmed in person, has given Poland the foundation to pursue a permanent US footprint of at least 11,000 and as many as 15,000 troops.