Trump floats setting up Army base in Poland
President Donald Trump on Thursday suggested the U.S. might set up its first Army base in Poland, a significant shift from earlier in the year when the administration sought to pull troops from the country.
The Polish government, during Trump’s first term, proposed establishing “Fort Trump” to solidify ties between the two countries and use American troops to deter neighboring Russia. But those plans appeared to dissipate as Trump ridiculed the NATO alliance — and Europe more broadly — for not spending enough on defense.
The Pentagon canceled a rotation of 4,000 troops to Poland in May after a spat between Trump and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz over the Iran war — although it later reversed the move.
“Thanks to the bold leadership of my friend, Karol Nawrocki, President of Poland, major progress is being made toward establishing a U.S. Army base in Poland,” Trump said in a TruthSocial post. “If this happens, the location will be announced very soon. This will be a historic step for our Great U.S./Polish Alliance.”
The Polish Embassy did not respond to a request for comment, and it was not immediately clear how far along the countries were in the process.
About 10,000 U.S. troops are stationed in Poland. The U.S. has put rotational troops there since 2017 and has two permanent military installations, although both are designed to support smaller deployments.
Trump floated the possibility as the Pentagon engages in an assessment of U.S. troops stationed abroad, a rare review that has consumed European leaders. They worry about losing American help to fend off any Russian attack on NATO.
But the announcement signals warming ties. Trump in May pledged to send 5,000 U.S. troops to Poland after Warsaw voiced frustration about the canceled deployment.
“The talks about this have been happening for months,” said a NATO official, who was granted anonymity to discuss a sensitive topic.
The U.S. earlier this week granted Poland $4 billion in military aid. And Polish Deputy Defense Minister Paweł Bejda told Polish news channel TVP that an American delegation, including Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby, visited the country this month to scout out locations for a possible base.
Only six countries in Europe have permanent U.S. military bases: Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Spain, Turkey and Belgium.
