In the United States, diplomatic protocols dictate that sitting American presidents remain neutral in foreign elections. Either Donald Trump doesn’t know about such protocols, or he doesn’t care.
The White House announced last week, for example, that it would welcome Polish President Andrzej Duda to the West Wing, just four days prior to national elections in Poland. Duda’s electoral fate is in doubt, and it seemed Trump wanted to put his thumb on the scale.
An Associated Press report noted last week, “Since the June 24 visit was announced Wednesday, some in Poland have accused Trump of interfering in their election, noting that it is unheard-of for a U.S. leader to host a foreign politician so close to an election because it could be seen as an endorsement. ‘President Trump is directly interfering in the election campaign in our country,’ said Janusz Sibora, an expert on diplomacy. ‘This is unacceptable. Good diplomatic custom does not allow for such visits four days before an election.’”
As the New York Times reported yesterday, the meeting, which had no official purpose, happened anyway.
Mr. Duda, who has served as Poland’s president since 2015, has presided over political restrictions on Poland’s judiciary, media and civil society while becoming one of Mr. Trump’s preferred foreign partners. The Polish election is on Sunday, a fact Mr. Trump made no effort to gloss over.
Indeed, there was no real pretense of neutrality. “It’s my honor to have a friend of mine here, President Duda of Poland, who has done an incredible job. I do believe he has an election coming up, and I do believe he’ll be very successful,” Trump told reporters. The Republican added, “I can say that President Duda is doing very well in Poland. He’s doing a terrific job. The people of Poland think the world of him.”
There’s no modern precedent for anything like this: the American president practically endorsed a foreign leader from the Rose Garden four days before a foreign election.









