Dear Mr. President With Joe Biden’s trip to Poland making world news in March, join us for a look back at previous presidential visits to this fair city…
SHUTTERSTOCK
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ividing opinion, President Biden’s Warsaw speech in March earned an enthusiastic response from the Polish public, but a more startled reception from more cautious-minded diplomatic quarters. Quoting Pope John Paul II, the President began his speech with the words “be not afraid”, before underlining the Polish capital’s role in modern history. “For generations, Warsaw has stood where liberty has been challenged and liberty has prevailed,” said Biden. Moving on, the President’s fire and brimstone address appeared to call for a shift in global policy, before concluding with the powerful assertion that “this man [Putin] cannot remain in power.” Flashed around the world, political pundits immediately drew parallels to other great speeches delivered by American leaders on foreign soil such as Ronald Reagan’s 1987 call in Berlin to “tear down this wall”. Marking the twelfth time a US president had visited Warsaw, Biden’s appearance could yet come to be remembered as one of the most important presidential trips to occur in half-a-century. warsawinsider.pl
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