Administration of Donald J. Trump, 2020

June 24, 2020

President Trump. Thank you very much. It's an honor to have President Duda, a friend.

We've had many discussions, and we work very well with Poland. I don't think we've ever been closer to Poland than we are right now. And we're going to have a very important meeting on economic development, military, and other things. And that'll start in about 10 minutes.

We're going to meet for a little while here, and then we're going into the Cabinet Room. We then will go outside, and we're going to see you all, or most of you, out in the Rose Garden, where we'll take some questions and make statements. And it's an honor to have you here, Mr.

President.

President Duda. Thank you very much, Mr. President. It's a privilege and honor to be here with you in the White House as the first President of state after the lockdown, at the end of the coronavirusââ

President Trump. It's true.

President Duda. ââepidemic. So thank you very much.

And I hope this meeting will be the next step in our relations, and I hope that we will build together a stronger alliance between Poland and the United States of America. I'm very glad to be here.

President Trump. Very good.

President Duda. Thank you.

President Trump. It's great to have you.

Okay, thank you very much, everybody. Thank you.

Q. Mr. Presidentââ

Q. Mr. President, how many U.S. troops will be sent to Poland?

Q. Mr. President how is itââ

Poland-U.S. Relations

Q. Mr. President, why did President Duda get the honor of meeting with you after so many months?

Q. How does it feel to have President Duda here?

President Trump. Great respect for Poland.

Q. What did you say, Mr. President? How does it feel to have the first foreign leader since the shutdown?

President Trump. [Inaudible]âwhat?

Poland-U.S. Relations

Q. Why did you decide now is a good time to have the first foreign leader since all the shutdowns?

President Trump. Well, I think it's a great honor. And, frankly, Poland's a country we have a tremendous relationship with, and I have a very good personal relationship with the President. So this is the first after COVID, after the start of the plague, as I call it. And it's an honor to have you here.

Okay. Thank you very much, everybody.

Former National Security Adviser Michael T. Flynn/2016 Presidential Election

Q. And do you think this is a mark of progress in the coronavirus?

President Trump. And I'm very happy about General Flynn. He was treated horribly. He was treated very, very horribly by a group of very bad people, and I think you'll see things are going to start to come out.

But what happened to General Flynn should never happen again in our country. He was persecuted, and many other people were persecuted. They spied on a campaign, and they should never spy on a campaign, to put it mildly. It never happened before in the history of our country. The Obama administration spied on a campaign. This is just the first one.

He's been exonerated, and I want to congratulate him. He's been through a lot. He's been through a lot. He had great courage, great fortitude. But they spied on a campaign. There's never been anything like that happen. If that were the other way around, people would be in jail for 50 years already.

Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you very much.

Q. Have you spoken to General Flynn? Have you spoken to Flynn?

Q. Are you planning to visit Poland, sir?

[*At this point, the reporters were ushered out of the room.*]

NOTE: The President spoke at 2:30 p.m. in the Oval Office at the White House.

Categories: Interviews With the News Media : Exchange with reporters :: White House; Meetings With Foreign Leaders and International Officials : Poland, President Duda.

Locations: Washington, DC.

Names: Duda, Andrzej; Flynn, Michael T.; Obama, Barack.

Subjects: Communications : News media :: Presidential interviews; Diseases : Coronavirus, domestic prevention efforts; Poland : Defense relationship with U.S.; Poland : President; Poland : Relations with U.S.; Poland : Trade with U.S.; Russia : 2016 U.S. elections, interference.

DCPD Number: DCPD202000469.