Poland Promises Future ‘Fort Trump’ In Exchange For More US Aid
President Andrzej Duda of Poland clearly understands Donald Trump very well. Duda is hoping to procure more U.S. military aid for Poland with an offer that Trump can’t refuse: he’s going to name something after The President. And if history is any indicator, Trump loves having things with his name on them.
Enter “Fort Trump,” the latest carrot being dangled before the U.S. President. After issuing an invitation for Trump to post more troops in Poland and perhaps even build a permanent military base in the country, Duda said he would name such an establishment after the current U.S. President.
Trump says he is considering the request, according to CNN. However, he added the caveat the Poland “would pay the United States.” Trump says that President Duda has offered in excess of $2 billion to go toward building a U.S. base in Poland.
“We’re looking at that more and more from the standpoint of defending really wealthy countries,” Trump said. World Bank shows that Poland’s GDP in 2016 was approximately $469.5 billion USD.
“We want to modernize Polish armed forces,” Duda said during a White House news conference, which he held jointly with Trump. “We are implementing the largest military investment so far over the last 30 years. We want to implement more projects. We want to buy more equipment.” His comments were reported by the New York Post.
Presidents Duda and Trump had a one-on-one meeting in the Oval Office Tuesday, a meeting during which Duda said he was smiling according to The News & Observer. As for Fort Trump, Duda says “I firmly believe that this is possible.”
There are currently 3,000 U.S. troops now stationed in Poland, a number that Duda hopes to see an increase to a much larger and more permanent presence. According to comments made by Trump, the two leaders discussed energy, commerce and defense.
Duda’s offer of a “Fort Trump” shows that he is savvy about how the current U.S. President thinks. Donald Trump is famous for using his own name, and he’s shown a penchant for putting it on buildings of all types.
The Trump Organization’s real estate portfolio lists a staggering number of buildings and business with the Trump name on them. The list includes the well-known Trump Tower in New York, along with Trump Towers in Istanbul, Florida and India. Then there’s the Trump International Hotel and Tower in Chicago (not to mention the ones in New York, Vancouver, Las Vegas and Honolulu), and Trump Plazas in New York, Jersey City and West Palm Beach. There’s also a slew of golf courses with the Trump name on them, multiple former magazines and the now-defunct Trump Steaks and Trump Vodka brands — to name just a few.
Could “Fort Trump” soon be added to the list? Things seem to be well on track for this idea to become a strong reality.
