Noem blasts 'weak' European leaders, stumps for conservative candidate in Poland
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Tuesday pushed for Karol Nawrocki to be president of Poland while speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Warsaw, decrying his opponent as a "train wreck."
It is an extraordinary move for a sitting member of the U.S. Cabinet to advocate for a political candidate in a foreign country.
Noem spoke for more than 20 minutes at CPAC, an American group that seeks to spread conservative ideas and held its first conference in Poland on Tuesday.
She claimed there is no time for "nice words," saying, "We do not have time to dance around the dangers that threaten our societies."
"It matters who's in charge," Noem told the crowd. "I have watched over the years as socialists and people that are just like this mayor out of Warsaw that is an absolute train wreck of a leader have destroyed our countries because they have led by fear.
"They have used fear to control people, and they've used fear to promote an agenda that is not what liberty is about, that is not what freedom is about," she said.
The Polish runoff election for president is on Sunday, June 1, with Nawrocki as the conservative choice and Rafal Trzaskowski for the Civic Platform party.
Nawrocki visited President Donald Trump earlier this year.
"He needs to be the next president of Poland," Noem said of Nawrocki. "Do you understand me?"
Noem then took aim at "weak" European leaders who have allowed in migrants and "destroyed their civilizations."
"You have enforced your borders. You have protected who comes into your country, enforced your visa programs. You've done good work to make sure that this country has a different story," she told the crowd.
"But you have much more to do, and you are threatened with a leader who is on the ballot who would take all of that protection away from you, who would open you up to much of the experiences that America had to live through under our last president, Joe Biden," she added, offering pointed criticisms at Biden and her predecessor, Alejandro Mayorkas.
She argued America "lived through four years of hell" and that the public made a choice in electing Trump in November.
"Thousands and thousands of dangerous criminals came into our country, hundreds of known terrorists infiltrated our country and our communities," she said. "And our families were murdered and raped and victimized, arrested, released again by his administration to continue the fear agenda that he was trying to promote and to allow political power to be in his hands but not in the people any longer."
Noem praised Trump as making the United States "safer" for the public.
"Donald Trump is a strong leader for us, but you have an opportunity to have just as strong of a leader in Karol if you make him the leader of this country," she said.
"You can be that shining city on a hill that the rest of Europe and the world will watch and know how strong you are, how free you are because you've elected the right leader that will protect it and defend it and ensure that every individual is treated the same and has equal rights as afforded to them," she added.
Noem also said that if the Polish elect the right person, the country will continue to have the backing of the U.S.
"If you have elected 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," she said. "You will have strong borders and protect your communities and keep them safe and ensure that your citizens are respected every single day. You will continue to have a U.S. presence here, a military presence, for Trump, that we can work together for the security of both of our nations."
CPAC will go to Hungary later this week, but it is unclear if Noem or any other U.S. officials will speak at the conference.
