The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) is the top annual political gathering of conservative activists and officials from across the United States. CPAC is hosted by the American Conservative Union, and its first edition took place in 1974.
Attending this year's event in Dallas was one of the main reasons behind the Polish President's ongoing visit to the US, the program of which also includes a visit to the Lockheed-Martin factory producing F-35 fighter jets, and meeting with the United States' Polish community.
In his Saturday speech at CPAC, Karol Nawrocki touched upon the matters of security, the threat Russia poses to the free world (he was one of the very few CPAC 2026 speakers to address this particular matter), and the importance of alliances such as NATO and the European Union. He also emphasized the strength of the Polish-American relationship.
"Poland has made its choice. We remained at the side of the United States - as we always have: 250 years ago, during World Wars I and II, in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks... Not because it was convenient, but because it was the right thing to do" - Karol Nawrocki said, adding that "alliances are built not only behind closed doors or in social circles, but also on the battlefield" and recalling the sacrifice of 66 Polish soldiers who gave their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan.
US President Donald Trump recently publicly floated the idea of his country leaving NATO. Possibly relating to this, Karol Nawrocki emphasized in his speech that Poland believes in the North Atlantic Alliance, seeing it as crucial for effective defense against Russian violence. He added that although Poland is currently one of the United States' strongest allies in Europe, it cannot accomplish this task on its own - but that the US support alone is not enough either, and the involvement of a broad range of allies, as well as the further development and strengthening of NATO, is essential.
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Source: PAP, IAR