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Sept. 18 (UPI) -- U.S. President Donald Trump and Polish President Andrzej Duda discussed the possibility of building a permanent U.S. military base in the country during a meeting Tuesday in Washington.
Duda, during his first trip to the White House since Trump took office, pledged to cover $2 billion of the costs of a new U.S. military base in Poland and name it after Trump, citing a need for increased defense amid "very strong militarization" and "aggressive behaviors" by Russia in recent years.
"I hope that we will build Fort Trump in Poland together, Mr. President," Duda said. "I am convinced that there is no more an effective method of preventing a war than a decisive stance demonstrating that we are ready at any moment to repel possible attack."
Trump added the United States was interested in exploring the possibility of constructing the base.
"The president offered us much more than $2 billion to do this and so we are looking at it from the stand point of number one military protection for both countries and also cost," he said.
Duda said he and Trump signed an updated version of the strategic partnership between the two countries regarding defense, security, energy and business.
"This agreement indicates the most important aspects of our cooperation and our friendship, it also sets new paths for the future," Duda said.
Trump said he and Duda agreed to bolster the United States and Poland's defense cooperation in military relations, intelligence, missile defense and training, and praised the country for meeting North Atlantic Treaty Organization goals on defense spending.
"We are grateful for Poland's leadership on defense spending and burden-sharing in NATO," Trump said. "I want to commend Poland for meeting its NATO defense spending obligations and I am glad that it plans to increase spending beyond the 2 percent minimum obligation."
Trump also fielded a question about sexual assault accusations leveled against his Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh by Christine Blasey Ford, again praising Kavanaugh and questioning why the allegation wasn't brought up earlier.
"I feel so badly for him that he's going through this, to be honest with you, I feel so badly for him," Trump said. "This is not a man that deserves this. It should have been brought up long ago. And that's what you have hearings for. You don't want until the hearing is over and then all of the sudden bring it up."
He also criticized Democrats for being "lousy on policy" and in many ways "lousy politicians," who he said were solely focused on resisting and obstructing his presidency.
Trump added he wouldn't oppose an FBI investigation into the allegations, but suggested it was outside of the agency's duties.
"It wouldn't bother me other than the FBI said they really don't do that," he said.
