US Ambassador Cuts Ties with Polish Sejm Speaker Over Trump Criticism

The US ambassador to Poland, Tom Rose, cut ties with Sejm speaker Wlodzimierz Czarzasty after he criticized Trump and US policies. Prime Minister Tusk defended Czarzasty, highlighting tensions between Poland’s government, its president, and the US alliance.

The United States ambassador to Poland, Tom Rose, announced that he would be cutting all contact with Wlodzimierz Czarzasty, the speaker of the Sejm, which is the lower house of Poland’s parliament. Ambassador Rose accused Czarzasty of making what he described as “outrageous and unprovoked insults” directed at former US President Donald Trump. The decision has drawn attention given Poland’s status as one of the United States’ closest allies in Europe, a country with one of the highest military budgets as a percentage of GDP within the US-led NATO alliance, and a key supporter of Ukraine in the ongoing conflict with Russia.
The row began after Czarzasty, a member of the center-left New Left party, publicly declared that he would not support efforts to nominate 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, further explaining that he believes Trump represents power politics and pursues transactional strategies through the use of force. The speaker also criticized a new US-led initiative, the Board of Peace, tasked with overseeing the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, arguing that existing international bodies such as the European Union, NATO, the United Nations, and the World Health Organization should be strengthened instead.
Czarzasty further criticized Trump’s statements regarding the potential acquisition of Greenland and remarks downplaying the contributions of European forces in the 2001–2021 US-led invasion of Afghanistan. Despite the US ambassador’s decision to cut ties, Czarzasty stated that it would not change his position, telling Polish media, “I regret the ambassador's declaration, but I will not change my position on these fundamental issues for Poland.”
The controversy has escalated within Poland’s political landscape. Czarzasty’s New Left is part of the governing coalition under Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who leads the center-right Civic Coalition (KO) party. Tusk criticized Ambassador Rose’s comments on the social media platform X, stating, “Allies should respect, not lecture, each other. At least this is how we, here in Poland, understand partnership.” Republican US lawmaker Don Bacon called for a replacement of Ambassador Rose, saying, “Time for a new Ambassador,” while KO lawmaker Zbigniew Konwinski accused Rose of extending threats from the speaker to the Polish government, calling it an “astonishing” form of diplomacy.
Poland, as a member of the European Union, has a government coalition that generally favors closer ties with Brussels. At the same time, Polish President Karol Nawrocki, whose June 2025 election campaign received Trump’s endorsement, is aligned with the nationalist opposition party Law and Justice (PiS), which has advocated for looser EU integration. The president holds the power to veto legislation and serves as the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, while executive powers largely reside with the prime minister and the cabinet. During a meeting at the Oval Office in September, Trump assured Nawrocki that the US had no plans to withdraw troops from Poland, adding, “We'll put more there if you want.”
The dispute between Ambassador Rose and Czarzasty has drawn international attention, reflecting broader tensions in diplomatic relations and domestic political dynamics in Poland. It highlights the delicate balance Poland maintains as a NATO member, a close US ally, and a country navigating differing domestic political priorities between pro-European coalition leaders and nationalist opposition forces.