The U.S. ambassador to Poland said Thursday that Washington will cut off engagement with Włodzimierz Czarzasty, the speaker of Poland’s lower house, after what Ambassador Tom Rose described as insults directed at President Donald Trump. Rose said the United States would have “no further dealings, contacts, or communications” with Czarzasty, framing the step as a response to “outrageous and unprovoked insults directed against President Trump.”
Czarzasty’s comments on Monday were central to the rift, Rose did not specify which remarks he was referring to, but the speaker had publicly said that Trump “does not deserve the Nobel Peace Prize.” Czarzasty also said Trump “represents power politics and, by the use of force, pursues transactional politics,” adding that this often means “breaking international law,” in language reported by the Associated Press account.
In his criticism, Czarzasty also said Trump did not recognize enough the role Polish soldiers played in U.S. military missions. He further criticized what he described as the “instrumental treatment of other territories,” mentioning Greenland, according to the AP report.
Rose’s move prompted an immediate response from Prime Minister Donald Tusk. Tusk wrote on X that “Mr. Ambassador Rose, allies should respect, not lecture, each other,” following Rose’s announcement Thursday afternoon.
Rose replied to Tusk, saying he viewed Czarzasty’s remarks as “so potentially damaging to your government.” Rose added that insulting Trump—described by Rose as “the greatest friend Poland has ever had in the White House”—was “the last thing” a Polish leader should do, according to the AP report.
The dispute also intersects with Poland’s internal politics. The Associated Press account described Czarzasty as a leader of a left-wing party within Donald Tusk’s liberal government, while Karol Nawrocki—backed by Poland’s national-conservative opposition Law and Justice—was portrayed as cultivating a separate channel with Trump.
According to the AP account, Nawrocki had “good relationships with Trump,” with Trump endorsing him during last year’s election campaign and inviting him to the White House soon after Nawrocki took office. It said that when Trump and Nawrocki sat side by side in September at the White House, Trump told reporters he does not intend to pull U.S. troops out of Poland, adding, “We’ll put more there if they want.”
This week’s confrontation, the AP report said, reflects the challenge for Warsaw in the current international context—supporting European allies while managing relations with the United States, whose role in peace in neighboring Ukraine is described as pivotal. Law and Justice is seeking to regain power in parliamentary elections next year, and the AP account said weakening Tusk’s coalition partners is part of its strategy.
Czarzasty responded Thursday night that, despite respecting the U.S. as a key ally for Poland, he would not change his position. Earlier in the week, the AP report said Nawrocki convened a national security body meeting to discuss, among other matters, whether Poland should join Trump’s Board of Peace and to clarify allegations about Czarzasty’s “eastern business and social contacts,” which Czarzasty denies.
The Associated Press account said the U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.