The United States ambassador to Poland, Tom Rose, has announced he will cut off all contact with Wlodzimierz Czarzasty, the speaker of the Sejm, Poland’s lower house of parliament. Rose said Czarzasty had made “outrageous and unprovoked insults directed against [US President Donald Trump].”
Poland is one of Washington’s closest European allies and a significant NATO contributor, bordering both Russia and Ukraine. It has been a strong supporter of Kyiv, and its government has expressed scepticism about efforts by President Trump to negotiate a peace settlement with Moscow. Czarzasty has previously accused Trump of “destabilizing” international institutions (FILE: November 22, 2025).
Why the break: Czarzasty’s comments about Trump
The ambassador’s decision followed remarks from Czarzasty, a member of the centre-left New Left party, that he would not support nominating Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize. “I won’t support the application for a Nobel prize for Trump because he does not deserve it,” Czarzasty said.
He criticised what he called Trump’s reliance on “power politics” and a transactional use of force. Czarzasty also opposed the US-led proposal to create a new Board of Peace to oversee a Gaza ceasefire, arguing that existing bodies—the EU, NATO, the UN and the WHO—should be strengthened instead. He further attacked Trump’s past comments about acquiring Greenland and remarks that he said downplayed Europe’s role in the 2001–2021 Afghanistan campaign. After the ambassador announced the diplomatic break, Czarzasty said he regretted the move but would not change his position on those core issues.
Political fallout in Warsaw and Washington
Czarzasty’s New Left is part of the governing coalition headed by Prime Minister Donald Tusk of the centre-right Civic Coalition (KO). Tusk publicly rebuked Ambassador Rose on the social platform X, saying allies should “respect one another rather than lecture.” KO lawmaker Zbigniew Konwinski accused Rose of shifting from criticism of the speaker to issuing threats aimed at the government, calling the conduct “an astonishing form of diplomacy.”
The row also drew reactions in US political circles. Republican Representative Don Bacon tweeted: “Time for a new Ambassador.”
Wider context: Poland between Brussels and Washington
Poland remains a member of the EU, and the parties in the current coalition have generally favored closer ties with Brussels. By contrast, President Karol Nawrocki—whose June 2025 election bid received Trump’s endorsement—is closely aligned with the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party, which advocates a looser relationship with the EU.
The Polish president can veto legislation and serves as commander-in-chief, while the prime minister and cabinet hold other executive powers. In a September 2025 Oval Office meeting with President Nawrocki, Trump reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to Poland’s security and told the Polish president, “We’ll put more there if you want.”
The dispute highlights the tightrope Warsaw walks between deepening ties with Brussels and managing a strategic security partnership with Washington, amid internal coalition divisions and differing views of US policy.
Edited by Wesley Dockery