Noem urges Poles to elect Trump ally as Cpac holds its first meeting in Poland
It comes five days before a tightly contested presidential election between a liberal mayor and a conservative backed by Donald Trump.
The two candidates vying to replace Polish President Andrzej Duda offer starkly different visions for Poland: Rafal Trzaskowski, the pro-European Union liberal mayor of Warsaw, and Karol Nawrocki, a conservative historian backed by the Law and Justice party who is sceptical of the EU.
'We need you to elect the right leader,' Kristi Noem, the US Homeland Security secretary and a prominent ally of the US president, said in a speech at the event.
'You will be the leaders that will turn Europe back to conservative values.'
Mrs Noem described Mr Trzaskowski as 'an absolute train wreck of a leader' and Mr Nawrocki as someone who would lead Poland in a style similar to Mr Trump.
US President Donald Trump (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
She opened her speech saying: 'I just had the opportunity to meet with Karol and listen: he needs to be the next president of Poland. Do you understand me?'
She also implied that electing Mr Nawrocki would strengthen the US-Poland relationship.
'If you (elect) a leader that will work with President Donald J Trump, the Polish people will have a strong ally 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 US presence here, a military presence. And you will have equipment that is American-made, that is high quality.'
The United States currently has some 10,000 troops stationed in Poland, a mission aimed at reassuring the front-line Nato nation worried about Russian aggression.
'Donald Trump is a strong leader for us, but you have an opportunity that you have just as strong of a leader in Karol if you make him the leader of this country,' Mrs Noem said.
Cpac chairman Matt Schlapp opened the proceedings with a speech claiming that conservatives around the world are locked in a battle against 'globalists', whom he described as enemies of faith, family and freedom.
Mr Schlapp claimed Cpac had stood by Mr Trump throughout his legal battles and declared that similar threats were playing out in countries like Poland.
'Are you happy that America is getting closer to being great again?' Mr Schlapp asked the audience.
'Did the re-election of Donald Trump bring you joy?'
He added: 'When one of us is under attack, the rest of us must come to that person's defence.
'The globalists intend to take each one of us out one by one — to shame us, to silence us, to bankrupt us, to ruin us, to make our kids turn against us.'
He said that is why it was important to 'win all these elections, including in Poland, that are so important to the freedom of people everywhere'.
The conference took place in Jasionka, near the southeastern Polish city of Rzeszow, located in a region of Poland that is staunchly conservative.
Jasionka has also been the hub for US and Western weapons sent to Ukraine following Russia's full-scale invasion more than three years ago.
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