WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Friday that his administration is considering establishing a U.S. Army base in Poland, predicted the war in Ukraine would be resolved, and described Brazil’s upcoming election as “very important,” in a wide-ranging exchange with reporters before departing for Texas.
“Well, we’re looking at that and we have great respect for the president of Poland. So we’re looking at that and it could happen,” Trump said when asked about a permanent U.S. military base in Poland, according to IANS. Pressed on why no final decision had been announced, he suggested one may already have been made: “Well, you don’t know if I made it or not. I might have made it. I like Poland.”
On Ukraine, Trump offered a brief prediction when asked about continued U.S. support for Kyiv. “I think it’s going to get solved,” he said, without giving a timeline, diplomatic plan or details on any ongoing negotiations. He also reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to its allies more broadly when asked about Iraq and U.S. partners: “I will never abandon our allies.”
Trump said he was following Brazil’s elections “very closely,” calling the country “a very important country” in South America. On Venezuela, he said Washington was considering “a lot of things” when asked whether the United States planned to establish a base there or elsewhere in South America, and said Venezuelan oil could be used to replenish the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve. He also pressed his push for lower interest rates, calling on Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh to consider rate cuts, IANS reported.
The remarks follow Trump’s Truth Social post last month in which he said “major progress” was being made toward a U.S. Army base in Poland and that its location would be announced “very soon,” according to Reuters. Poland has been pushing for a bigger allied presence on NATO’s eastern flank since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022; U.S. troops currently serve there on a rotational basis, and the Pentagon said in June it was reviewing U.S. troop deployments in Europe. Trump spoke ahead of a tour of Republican-leaning states, including Texas, Oklahoma, Ohio, Alabama and Nebraska, which he framed as voter outreach and political mobilization.