Why Dem's are So Critical of Trump's Landmark Speech in Poland Derangement Syndrome now very evident 8 americanlibertyreport
On July 6, President Trump gave a landmark speech in Warsaw, Poland — a speech that according to many observers such as Republican former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich was the best one of his presidency so far.
While Poland might seem an unlikely country in which Trump would deliver such an audacious oratory, it actually makes more sense in hindsight than it might on paper. Poland is a longtime ally of the U.S. and has traditionally been an underdog in many European wars and drawn-out conflicts.
As Trump declared in his address, Poland has been invaded, occupied, ravaged and pillaged more times in the last millennium than most European states. In World War II alone, horrific losses of territory, assets and lives cost the Polish people a heavy toll in blood and treasure — more than six million Poles died, including three million Jews, many of whom were confined in Warsaw to a walled-in ghetto before fighting back in a rebellion that was brutally crushed by the Nazis in 1943.
Indeed, Germany has been one of several longstanding enemies of Poland, and President Trump’s frosty relations with German Chancellor Angela Merkel could be strongly contrasted with the warmth and mutual admiration that the Polish First couple Andrzej and Agata Duda and President and Melania Trump expressed toward one another. Both President Duda and President Trump solemnly placed wreaths at the Warsaw Uprising Monument where Trump addressed a large gathered crowd of Polish spectators.
This epic backdrop to Trump’s address was both fitting and timely, providing a dramatic reminder of the sacrifices both countries made in the waning days of World War II, when the Nazi armies were retreating to Germany, brutally fighting to the last man in desperate, fearsome battles along the way. In 1944, before the Germans were driven out of Warsaw by the advancing Russian army, the Poles sought to free the city via heroic efforts led by the Polish Resistance. These actions, known today as the Warsaw Uprising, saw the deaths of some 200,000 Poles over a span of just 63 days. By 1945, over 85 percent of Warsaw lay in ruins.
In his address, Trump didn’t shy away from mentioning these darker periods of Poland’s history. He spoke of both the Katyn Massacre of World War II, in which 22,000 Polish army officers and intelligentsia perished at the hands of Soviet secret police and the aforementioned Uprising for which the monument he stood in front of was named.
By doing so, he reminded the assembled Polish crowd that their freedom had come at an enormous cost for their country and that this freedom would be vigorously defended by their ally the United States, both now and in the future. Trump also reminded the audience that Poland is one of the few European states that has paid and continues to pay its full contribution to the NATO alliance.
Trump mentioned prominent Poles whose names loom large in American history — Casimir Pulaski, a Revolutionary War cavalry leader who saved the life of George Washington, and Tadeusz Kosciuszko, the man responsible for the design of the original military fort at West Point. Both men were ultimately made brigadier generals in the American Continental Army, with Pulaski going on to lose his life fighting the British in 1779.
Later in American history, a wave of Polish immigrants in the 1800s and 1900s helped forge American steel, mine American coal and pack American meat along with other European immigrants, and the fabric of our country is intertwined with that of the Polish people. In referencing these important Americans, Trump emphasized to the assembled crowd that their country was not too different from America; both nations have fought difficult battles, suffered losses and had ultimately become unlikely victors in terrible wars that have left marks on world history. Trump talked about the values of courage, strength and heart that make both Poland and America noble states.
Trump also brought up the specter of Poland’s other great enemy, Russia. News watchers may remember the terrible day in 2010 when Poland’s former President Lech Kaczynski was killed along with senior Polish military officers when their plane crashed in Russian territory. Foul play was never proven, but today, the incident and its bitter aftermath are a reminder of the bad blood that still exists between these two countries.
By standing tall with and addressing the Polish people, Trump made it clear whose side he’s on, and in doing so, reminded observers of Ronald Reagan, another American president who stood with the Poles and faced down their great Russian enemy. A number of analysts compared Trump’s speech here with former President Reagan’s famous 1987 speech in Berlin, during which the latter president uttered the famous words, “Mr. Gorbachev [then leader of the Soviet Union], tear down this wall [indicating the Berlin Wall dividing East Berlin from West Berlin].”
In fact, it was only in 1990 that Poland became an independent nation again after 41 years of being an Eastern bloc state dominated and controlled by the Communists. This was due largely to the organizational efforts of Polish Solidarity labor leader Lech Walesa, enabling Polish workers to stand up to their Soviet puppet masters and throw off the authoritarian chains that kept them virtually enslaved for more than four decades. Not only was Walesa ultimately made the president of Poland in 1990, he was present for Trump’s speech in the audience, another stark reminder of how important Trump’s visit was for this proud country.
And indeed, the crowd cheered Trump, chanting his name and alternating with shouts of “USA! USA! USA!” Spectators waved U.S. flags and at times seemed even more zealous than Americans to be bearing witness to a Trump address. As for Trump, he was enormously enthusiastic about the overwhelming response to his words.
Many analysts say that although Trump mostly talked about history, his speech was essentially an appraisal on whether the values of “the West” — meaning the traditional Judeo-Christian principles of the United States and Europe — would eventually triumph over the evils of radical Islam and other cultural marauders that threaten our mutual societies, interests and ambitions.
“The fundamental question of our time is whether the West has the will to survive,” declared Trump. “Do we have the confidence in our values to defend them at any cost? Do we have enough respect for our citizens to protect our borders? Do we have the desire and the courage to preserve our civilization in the face of those who would subvert and destroy it? We can have the largest economies and the most lethal weapons anywhere on Earth, but if we do not have strong families and strong values, then we will be weak, and we will not survive.”
These potent words echoed across Europe and America. While much has been made of Trump reiterating in recent months that he’s the president of the United States and not of the free world, his speech in Warsaw reminded observers that the concept of ‘America First’ doesn’t necessarily mean ‘America alone,’ as White House aide Sebastian Gorka summarized to viewers on Fox News shortly after the president’s address.
Even traditional Trump critics such as New York Times columnist David Brooks grudgingly admitted that Trump’s speech was “powerful” and “appealing.” “I like the fact that appealed to that, especially when he’s trying to, I hope, reunify the Western alliance, which has been a powerful force for good in the world over the last 70 years. And, to his credit, he appealed to some of the things that are finest about Western civilization — artistic creativity, rights of minorities, equality for woman. He ran down the list.”
While in the subsequent days, Trump’s appearance at the G-20 summit in Hamburg, Germany served to affirm to the world that the U.S. continues to work with its global allies in securing the safety and freedom of Democratic nations worldwide, his speech in Poland was a reminder that sometimes standing up for the underdog is more important than photo opportunities with the Masters of the Universe.
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