Donald Trump kicks off Europe trip with visit to Poland, slams Russia and China in public address
Donald Trump’s high-stakes trip to Europe kicks off on a comforting note — in front of a friendly crowd bussed in by his sympathetic hosts in Poland
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Donald Trump's high-stakes trip to Europe, where he faces a prickly G20 meeting and animosity from traditional US allies, kicks off on a comforting note — in front of a friendly crowd bussed in by his sympathetic hosts in Poland. AP
The US president, in his public speech with Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda, pledged that US would back NATO at the start of the high-stakes visit to Europe on Thursday, as he warned that the future of the West was at risk. Reuters
Speaking at Krasinski Square — which memorialises the Warsaw uprising against Nazi occupation — Trump pointed to Poland as an example of resolve in the defence of western traditions. AP
Around 10,000 people turned out to see him, many arriving on free buses laid on by Poland's conservative ruling party, which was eager to ensure Trump got the adulation he craves. AP
Small scale protests were held during Trump's visit. In this image, a man stands in front of a banner against the US president ahead of his public speech in Warsaw. The banner reads in Polish, "global catastrophe". Reuters
Speaking in a country alarmed by Moscow's increasing military assertiveness, Trump — just a day before he meets Russian president Vladimir Putin at the G20 Summit — offered rare criticism of Russia's behaviour. AP
He also said Moscow "may have" tried to influence the 2016 election that brought him to power, but suggested others too may have been involved and blames his predecessor Barack Obama for failing to act. Reuters
In his first public remarks since North Korea's test of an ICBM, Trump also said Pyongyang's military sabre-rattling must bring "consequences" and warned he was considering a "severe" response to its "very, very bad behaviour". Trump will now leave for the second leg of his trip, heading to Germany to attend the G20 summit. AP
Ivanka Trump also made it a point to visit the Warsaw ghetto memorial, a day after Polish Jews condemned her father, Trump, for leaving the monument off his to-do list while in the Polish capital. AP