The President of Poland, Andrzej Duda, has announced that he has written a book, which recounts his experiences as the highest-ranking official in the state. From the excerpts available, it’s clear that the publication includes behind-the-scenes descriptions of key encounters—including one in which Joe Biden invited both Duda and Donald Tusk to the White House.
On August 6, President Andrzej Duda’s second and final term will come to an end. That day, Karol Nawrocki will be sworn in as the new president. The outgoing president chose to share his reflections on what it’s like to be the head of state. He wrote a book.
“Without embellishment or censorship. A story about the behind-the-scenes of decisions that shaped the fate of Poland and Europe. Never-before-disclosed conversations with leading politicians at home and abroad,” reads the description on the book’s dedicated website.
What can readers expect in the book titled “It’s Me, Andrzej Duda”?
“The Oval Office and Nowogrodzka Street, a tank graveyard in Ukraine and an African village, the presidential residence in Jurata and a grocery store in a Kraków neighborhood—I take the reader everywhere my story unfolded, both politically and personally,” says the president.
“I recount conversations with Polish citizens during election campaigns and meetings with the Polish diaspora in far-flung corners of the world. I talk about how the legacy of Lech Kaczyński influenced my presidency and the vision of Poland I am passing on to Karol Nawrocki,” he adds.
Behind the Scenes of the Biden-Duda-Tusk Meeting
Duda emphasizes that his publication is “an honest story about life and the presidency.” He also shares excerpts that support this claim. The book reveals, among other things, how the president negotiated the establishment of NATO bases in Poland, lobbied for the development of a missile defense shield in the country, and when Donald Tusk… “lost his temper.”
“On the 25th anniversary of Poland’s accession to NATO, President Joe Biden invited me and Prime Minister Donald Tusk to the White House. Biden joked, maintained both eye contact and physical contact with me. Tusk, from the background, tried hard to ingratiate himself with the American president,” reads one of the excerpts.
And further: “My team had experience from previous White House visits. We moved around confidently and without insecurity. That irritated Tusk.”