Trump Reportedly Pressed Kosiniak-Kamysz to Leave Tusk’s Coalition

The essay, titled “The Menacing MAGA Way to Remake European Politics,” appeared on November 1. Applebaum discloses that she is married to Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski, whose party is the largest in the ruling coalition.

What Applebaum Wrote

Applebaum says Polish media, including far-right outlets, “have widely reported” the story. She writes that Trump “strongly hinted” to Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz that he should switch sides.

Kosiniak-Kamysz leads the small, agrarian Polish People’s Party (PSL). He was in Washington in the spring for a Medal of Honor ceremony, she writes.

Just after the event, she says, Trump took him aside. He “reportedly” told him he would be “much better regarded in Washington” if he left the coalition. He should deal with nationalist and far-right parties instead.

“He didn’t follow Trump’s advice,” she writes. Applebaum cites no named or anonymous source of her own. She says The Atlantic asked the White House for comment and had not received a response.

She calls the episode unprecedented in Poland since the days “when Soviet leaders decided which Polish Communists should rule.” That comparison is her opinion.

What Polish Media and Officials Have Said

The conversation took place on March 2 at the White House. It happened on the margins of a Medal of Honor ceremony for Staff Sgt. Michael Ollis, and stayed private for about seven months.

Kosiniak-Kamysz confirmed in early October that he spoke with Trump. He called it informal and thanked Trump for U.S. troops in Poland. He said a permanent U.S. base was not the subject and credited President Karol Nawrocki’s office with helping arrange it.

On October 2, Gazeta Wyborcza journalist Dominika Wielowieyska said her unnamed sources indicated Trump suggested a coalition with the right. They would then have “100% support from the United States and the presidential administration,” she said.

Notes from Poland reported that Republika, a right-wing broadcaster close to Nawrocki, cited unnamed sources too. It said there were signs the Americans wanted a change of prime minister.

Tusk said on October 5 that Kosiniak-Kamysz briefed him right after the meeting. He said it concerned “the internal situation in Poland” and was “too interesting” to discuss publicly. He said bases were not the topic.

Sikorski suggested the meeting may have been “an attempt to involve a foreign state in our internal politics,” Notes from Poland reported. PSL’s Krzysztof Hetman rejected claims that Trump wanted to topple the government.

Neither Trump nor Kosiniak-Kamysz has publicly confirmed any proposal. Kosiniak-Kamysz has said his party has no plans to leave the coalition. No response from the White House or Warsaw to the essay had been reported by Sunday night.

Tribunal Crisis in the Background

The essay arrives during a crisis over Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal. On October 30, judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska said she had suspended Tribunal president Bogdan Święczkowski and his deputy, Bartłomiej Sochański, for a month.

Święczkowski rejected the move, and the Tribunal called it a coup. Nawrocki cut short a trip to Senegal as police entered the court’s grounds.

Shortly after midnight on October 31, a video showed Nawrocki pushing through the crowd at the Tribunal’s entrance. Inside, POLITICO reported, he told judges elected by Tusk’s majority they were not Tribunal judges.

He later accused the government of “forcibly seizing a constitutional institution.” Judge Maciej Berek accused him of physically confronting Korwin-Piotrowska. A presidential aide said the judges manhandled Nawrocki.

Tusk answered in a televised address that evening. “In certain matters there can be no compromise,” he said. He called the Tribunal in PiS’s form “not a real court.”

U.S. Ambassador Tom Rose wrote on X that the crowd outside makes “an already dangerous situation more combustible.” The European Commission told POLITICO that the Sejm has the right to appoint judges.

On November 1, Nawrocki held consultations. Kosiniak-Kamysz and Szymon Hołownia, both in Tusk’s coalition, urged a “constitutional reset.” Lewica and Centrum refused to attend.

No-Confidence Motion

On October 31, former prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki announced a constructive no-confidence motion against Tusk. He leads Rozwój Plus, a caucus that left PiS, not PiS itself.

The motion proposes a technical government under former Sejm speaker Marek Jurek until the 2027 election. It needs 231 of 460 votes. bne IntelliNews calls passage unlikely.

Romania and Germany

Applebaum calls Poland “the clearest case.” She writes that “in at least three cases,” Americans have reportedly tried to persuade elected European leaders to dump coalition partners.

She opens with Kimberly Guilfoyle, then U.S. ambassador to Greece. The Wall Street Journal and Financial Times reported she took credit at an Athens dinner for Romania’s coalition collapse. Guilfoyle and her lawyer denied it.

Romanian Social Democrat leader Sorin Grindeanu denied that Americans influenced his party’s exit. Far-right leader George Simion called Guilfoyle a friend but denied she affected the decision, Applebaum writes.

On Germany, she says some German politicians believe Washington wants the CDU to ally with the AfD. She also notes that Trump endorsed Nawrocki in 2025 and took credit for his win.