Polish chargé d’affaires Bogdan Klich caught attention when Donald Trump greeted him at his State of the Union address, igniting political debate in Poland.
Trump’s Greeting with Klich
Donald Trump’s State of the Union address began on Wednesday, February 25, at 3:00 Polish time and lasted approximately 1 hour and 48 minutes. Before leaving, the US President greeted politicians, including diplomats who were nearby. RMF FM Radio’s correspondent in the United States, Paweł Żuchowski, noted that among them was Bogdan Klich, who has been heading the Polish embassy in Washington D.C. as chargé d’affaires since November 18, 2024. “One could see how President Donald Trump extended his hand to Bogdan Klich,” wrote the journalist.
Klich on Nawrocki’s Blacklist
President Trump opposes nominating individuals designated by Radosław Sikorski as ambassadors, particularly Bogdan Klich. “There’s no possibility he would become an ambassador. Besides, he failed to accomplish things I managed to arrange in a single meeting. I’m thinking about restrictions on microchip exports,” Karol Nawrocki said in June in an interview with “Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.” Despite this opposition, Klich can serve as chargé d’affaires, though he is not the formal ambassador.
“Klich’s Days Are Numbered”
In mid-January, Marcin Przydacz, head of the President’s Office of International Policy, assessed that “Klich’s days are numbered in Washington,” and Foreign Minister Sikorski “has already come to terms with the fact that he will not be ambassador” to the US. Marta Rawicz of Gazeta.pl decided to ask Donald Tusk about the matter. “The days of Minister Klich are not numbered. There is no decision to recall Mr. Klich from the post in Washington. That’s not true,” the head of government answered during a press conference held on January 15.
