WARSAW, Poland (AP) 鈥� The Conservative Political Action Conference, the United States' premier conservative gathering, held its first meeting in Poland on Tuesday, just five days before a tightly between a liberal mayor and a conservative backed by U.S. President .
vying to replace Polish President Andrzej Duda offer starkly different visions for Poland: Rafa艂 Trzaskowski, the pro-European Union liberal mayor of Warsaw, and Karol Nawrocki, a conservative historian backed by the Law and Justice party who is skeptical of the EU.
鈥淲e need you to elect the right leader,鈥� Kristi Noem, the U.S. Homeland Security Secretary and a prominent Trump ally, said in a speech at the event. 鈥淵ou will be the leaders that will turn Europe back to conservative values."
Noem described Trzaskowski as 鈥渁n absolute train wreck of a leader" and Nawrocki as someone who would lead Poland in a style similar to Trump.
She opened her speech saying: 鈥淚 just had the opportunity to meet with Karol and listen: he needs to be the next president of Poland. Do you understand me?鈥�
She also implied that electing Nawrocki would strengthen the U.S.-Poland relationship.
鈥淚f you (elect) a leader that will work with President Donald J. Trump, the Polish people will have an ally strong that will ensure that you will be able to fight off enemies that do not share your values,鈥� she said.
鈥淵ou will have strong borders and protect your communities and keep them safe, and ensure that your citizens are respected every single day," she said. "You will continue to have a U.S. presence here, a military presence. And you will have equipment that is American-made, that is high quality.鈥�
The United States currently has some 10,000 troops stationed in Poland, a mission aimed at reassuring the frontline NATO nation worried about Russian aggression.
鈥淒onald Trump is a strong leader for us, but you have an opportunity that you have just as strong of a leader in Karol if you make him the leader of this country,鈥� Noem said.
CPAC sees a 鈥榞lobalist鈥� attack
CPAC chairman Matt Schlapp opened the proceedings with a speech claiming that conservatives around the world are locked in a battle against 鈥済lobalists,鈥� whom he described as enemies of faith, family and freedom.
Schlapp claimed CPAC had stood by Trump throughout his legal battles and declared that similar threats were playing out in countries like Poland.
鈥淎re you happy that America is getting closer to being great again?鈥� Schlapp asked the audience. 鈥淒id of Donald Trump bring you joy?鈥�
鈥淲hen one of us is under attack, the rest of us must come to that person鈥檚 defense,鈥� he added. 鈥淭he globalists intend to take each one of us out one by one 鈥� to shame us, to silence us, to bankrupt us, to ruin us, to make our kids turn against us."
He said that's why it was important to 鈥渨in all these elections, including in Poland, that are so important to the freedom of people everywhere.鈥�
The conference took place in Jasionka, near the southeastern Polish city of Rzeszow, located in a region of Poland that is staunchly conservative. Jasionka has also been the hub for U.S. and Western weapons sent to Ukraine following Russia's full-scale invasion more than three years ago.
A global conservative movement
CPAC meetings, which started in 1974, used to champion tight budgets and a hawkish foreign policy, but have steadily been taken over by of the Republican party. CPAC has rebranded itself as a celebration of the U.S. president鈥檚 populist approach.
At the same time, it鈥檚 reached out to other conservative populists with a stated goal of helping grow a global conservative movement. CPAC has held gatherings in Japan, South Korea, Mexico City and Israel. Hungarian Prime Minister and his staff have become . The gathering in Poland followed multiple CPAC meetings in Budapest.
Another speaker Tuesday was John Eastman, a conservative lawyer who was the architect of much of Trump鈥檚 unsuccessful strategy to overturn his 2020 election loss.
In his speech, Eastman framed the upcoming Polish presidential election as a decisive moment for the future of Western civilization. He argued that a cultural and ideological 鈥渃ancer鈥� marked by a loss of faith in Western civilization is spreading eastward.
鈥淧oland is poised to play a critical role in defeating this threat to Western civilization. That is why the election this coming Sunday is so important," Eastman said.
Vanessa Gera, The Associated Press
