The U.S. ambassador in Warsaw cut off contact with Poland’s parliament speaker on Thursday, accusing him of insulting Donald Trump after he criticised the president’s policies and declined to support his Nobel Peace Prize ambitions.
The US ambassador to Poland said on Thursday that he had ended all contact with the speaker of Poland’s parliament, accusing him of insulting President Donald Trump after the senior politician criticised Trump’s policies and refused to back efforts to nominate him for a Nobel Peace Prize.
Ambassador Tom Rose’s sharp rebuke of Parliament Speaker Wlodzimierz Czarzasty highlighted the delicate position facing members of Poland’s pro-European coalition government as they seek to maintain close ties with their most important ally, even as Trump pursues “America First” policies that many in the coalition view with unease.
The dispute, which unfolded on social media platform X, prompted a response from Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
“Mr Ambassador Rose, allies should respect each other, not lecture one another. At least this is how we in Poland understand partnership,” Tusk wrote.
The episode also underscored political divisions within Poland, particularly between Tusk’s government and the more Trump-aligned nationalist opposition as well as President Karol Nawrocki.
“The current ruling coalition has chosen as parliamentary speaker a man who does not understand the importance and meaning of alliances,” Nawrocki’s spokesman, Rafal Leskiewicz, told PAP news agency.
Czarzasty had said on Monday that he would not support an initiative proposed by US House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson and Israeli Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana to encourage parliamentary leaders to nominate Trump for the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize, citing his role in efforts to bring peace to the Middle East.
“In my view, President Trump is destabilising the situation in these international organisations by pursuing politics based on force and using power to advance a transactional approach,” Czarzasty, who leads The Left party, a junior partner in the governing coalition, told reporters.
“For these reasons, I will not support President Trump’s Nobel Peace Prize nomination, as I do not believe he deserves it,” he added.
Rose responded on Thursday by saying the United States would have no further “dealings, contacts, or communications” with Czarzasty, with immediate effect.
“(Czarzasty’s) outrageous and unprovoked insults against President Trump have made him a serious obstacle to our excellent relations with Prime Minister Tusk and his government,” the ambassador wrote on X.
“We will not allow anyone to damage US-Polish relations or show disrespect to President Trump, who has done so much for Poland and the Polish people,” he added.
Czarzasty later said on X that while he regretted the ambassador’s response, he would not alter his stance on fundamental issues.
With inputs from agencies
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