President Andrzej Duda is visiting the United States. On Sunday, the presidential couple will visit the National Shrine of Our Lady of Częstochowa in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, known as the “American Częstochowa.” “This is a great day for our wonderful Polish-American community,” commented former President Donald Trump, who called the Polish president a “great friend.” The Republican also recalled his message to Poles during his visit to Warsaw in 2017. Duda's visit to the United States will last until Wednesday.
The president is accompanied by the first lady Agata Kornhauser-DudaOn Sunday afternoon, the presidential couple will visit the National Shrine of Our Lady of Częstochowa in Doylestown, where they will attend mass and then the unveiling of the Solidarity Monument. The Pauline-run sanctuary – called the “American Częstochowa” – is an important place for the Polish community, where a copy of the painting from Jasna Góra is located.
National Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa in Doylestown, Pennsylvania PAP/Alamy
Initially, the former US president was to take part in the same ceremony. Donald Trumpwhich was reported by representatives of his staff on Wednesday. A day later, however, they announced that these plans were no longer valid. The news of the plans was met with controversy in Washington, D.C. Democratic politicians warned that such a meeting in an important electoral state 43 days before the election would be seen as an endorsement of the Republican candidate.
The Doylestown sanctuary is an important meeting place and pilgrimage site for the Polish community in Pennsylvania and surrounding states. Pennsylvania, where 5 percent of the population is of Polish descent, is seen as one of the most important states for the presidential election. Both parties are seeking the Polish community's votes there and in other key states, including Michigan and Wisconsin.
Trump on Duda: my great friend
“This is a wonderful day for our wonderful Polish-American community. My great friend, Polish President Andrzej Duda, is at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, to pay tribute and commemorate the brave heroes who fought for Poland's independence after World War II,” wrote Donald Trump in a post on his TRUTH Social website.
“It was the incredible example of Polish heroes in history that inspired the final words of my speech to the brave Polish nation on July 6, 2017: 'Let us all fight together as Poles — for family, for freedom, for country and for God,'” he added. He attached a recording of a fragment of his speech from in front of the Warsaw Uprising Monument in 2017 to the post.
Andrzej Duda visits the US. The planned meeting with Donald Trump will not take placeMarcin Wrona/Fakty TVN
Duda's visit plan to the USA
On Monday, the Polish president will take part in, among others, the plenary session of the “Summit for the Future” as well as the “Round Table of Three Seas Leaders”, organized by the Atlantic Council.
The most important point of the program – on Tuesday evening – will be the president's speech in the general debate of the 79th session of the General Assembly UN.
On Wednesday Andrzej Duda He will meet with the presidents of the Baltic states and will also participate in the open debate of the UN Security Council “Leadership for Peace”.
During the visit to New York, bilateral meetings were planned: with the Chairman of the Presidium Bosnia and Herzegovina Denis Bećirović, UN Secretary General António Guterres, Council of Europe Secretary General Alain Berset, Prime Minister Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, President of the World Jewish Congress Ronald S. Lauder, and President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Félix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo.
At the end of their visit to the USA, the Polish presidential couple will attend a reception hosted by the US President Joe Biden at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Andrzej Duda expressed hope that during the reception he would talk to Joe Biden “at least for a moment”.
Main image source: PAP/Alamy