Poland sets a government confidence vote for June 11 as Tusk notes a ‘new political reality’

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Tuesday that parliament will hold a confidence vote on his government on June 11, as the country faces a “new political reality" following his ally's presidential election loss.

Tusk called for the vote after the liberal Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski lost the weekend election to conservative Karol Nawrocki. Nawrocki, who was supported by U.S. President Donald Trump, won 50.89% of votes in a tight race that revealed deep divisions in the country on NATO's eastern flank.

“The political reality is new, because we have a new president," Tusk told a Cabinet meeting. “But the constitution, our obligations and the expectations of citizens have not changed.”

Tusk’s government runs most of the day-to-day matters in Poland. It exists separately from the presidency, but the president holds power to veto laws and influence foreign policy. Nawrocki’s win will make it difficult for Tusk to press his pro-European agenda.

There are questions about whether Tusk's fragile coalition can survive until the next scheduled parliamentary election at the end of 2027. Some political opponents are calling for him to step down.

The decision to call a confidence vote is apparently an attempt by Tusk to try to reassert authority in a shifting political situation where some coalition partners might be less likely to want to stick with him.

Observers believe that he's likely to survive the vote next week and be in a position to continue governing Poland as its most powerful official. The parties in his coalition still hold a majority in parliament.

Tusk oversees a coalition of several parties spanning an ideological divide, from left-wing progressives to centrists to agrarian conservatives. The coalition has failed to agree on some issues, and the government has failed to fulfill some of Tusk's key promises, including a liberalization of the restrictive abortion law.

Nawrocki is due to take office on Aug. 6. He is expected to shape the country’s domestic and foreign policy in ways that could strain ties with Brussels, while aligning the Central European nation of nearly 38 million people more closely with the Trump administration.

Trump welcomed his election, saying on social media: “Congratulations Poland, you picked a WINNER!”

Nawrocki replied to Trump on social media, saying: “Thank you, Mr President. Strong alliance with the USA, as well as partnership based on close cooperation are my top priorities.”

Nawrocki will replace the conservative outgoing president, Andrzej Duda. The Polish Constitution limits presidents to two terms.

Duda, who like Nawrocki was the candidate of the Law and Justice party, welcomed him warmly at the presidential palace on Tuesday evening, hugging him. Duda said he believes it will be only the first of meetings in which he will share his experiences, primarily in the field of security policy and international policy.

Poland's outgoing President Andrzej Duda, left, welcomes the President Elect Karol Nawrocki at the Presidential Palace in Warsaw, Poland, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

Poland's President Elect Karol Nawrocki gestures at the Presidential Palace in Warsaw, Poland, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

Poland's outgoing President Andrzej Duda, left, welcomes the President Elect Karol Nawrocki at the Presidential Palace in Warsaw, Poland, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

Poland's President Elect Karol Nawrocki arrives to meet with Poland's outgoing President Andrzej Duda at the Presidential Palace in Warsaw, Poland, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

Poland's outgoing President Andrzej Duda, left, welcomes the President Elect Karol Nawrocki at the Presidential Palace in Warsaw, Poland, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

The liberal presidential candidate Rafal Trzaskowski, front left, waves as he and Polish prime minister Donald Tusk, front right, take part in a march one week ahead of a decisive presidential election in Warsaw, Poland on Sunday, May 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

Presidential candidate Karol Nawrocki, a conservative historian backed by the right-wing Law and Justice party greets supporters as he arrives at his headquarters after the presidential election runoff in Warsaw, Poland, Sunday, June 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's photo portrait display at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery has had references to his two impeachments removed, the latest apparent change at the collection of museums he has accused of bias as he asserts his influence over how official presentations document U.S. history.

The wall text, which summarized Trump's first presidency and noted his 2024 comeback victory, was part of the museum's “American Presidents” exhibition. The description had been placed alongside a photograph of Trump taken during his first term. Now, a different photo appears without any accompanying text block, though the text was available online. Trump was the only president whose display in the gallery, as seen Sunday, did not include any extended text.

The White House did not say whether it sought any changes. Nor did a Smithsonian statement in response to Associated Press questions. But Trump ordered in August that Smithsonian officials review all exhibits before the nation celebrates the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence on July 4. The Republican administration said the effort would “ensure alignment with the president’s directive to celebrate American exceptionalism, remove divisive or partisan narratives, and restore confidence in our shared cultural institutions.”

Trump's original “portrait label," as the Smithsonian calls it, notes Trump's Supreme Court nominations and his administration's development of COVID-19 vaccines. That section concludes: “Impeached twice, on charges of abuse of power and incitement of insurrection after supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, he was acquitted by the Senate in both trials.”

Then the text continues: “After losing to Joe Biden in 2020, Trump mounted a historic comeback in the 2024 election. He is the only president aside from Grover Cleveland (1837– 1908) to have won a nonconsecutive second term.”

Asked about the display, White House spokesman Davis Ingle celebrated the new photograph, which shows Trump, brow furrowed, leaning over his Oval Office desk. Ingle said it ensures Trump's “unmatched aura ... will be felt throughout the halls of the National Portrait Gallery.”

The portrait was taken by White House photographer Daniel Torok, who is credited in the display that includes medallions noting Trump is the 45th and 47th president. Similar numerical medallions appear alongside other presidents' painted portraits that also include the more extended biographical summaries such as what had been part of Trump's display.

Sitting presidents are represented by photographs until their official paintings are commissioned and completed.

Ingle did not answer questions about whether Trump or a White House aide, on his behalf, asked for anything related to the portrait label.

The gallery said in a statement that it had previously rotated two photographs of Trump from its collection before putting up Torok's work.

“The museum is beginning its planned update of the America’s Presidents gallery which will undergo a larger refresh this Spring,” the gallery statement said. “For some new exhibitions and displays, the museum has been exploring quotes or tombstone labels, which provide only general information, such as the artist’s name.”

For now, references to Presidents Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton being impeached in 1868 and 1998, respectively, remain as part of their portrait labels, as does President Richard Nixon's 1974 resignation as a result of the Watergate scandal.

And, the gallery statement noted, “The history of Presidential impeachments continues to be represented in our museums, including the National Museum of American History.”

Trump has made clear his intentions to shape how the federal government documents U.S. history and culture. He has offered an especially harsh assessment of how the Smithsonian and other museums have featured chattel slavery as a seminal variable in the nation's development but also taken steps to reshape how he and his contemporary rivals are depicted.

In the months before his order for a Smithsonian review, he fired the head archivist of the National Archives and said he was firing the National Portrait Gallery's director, Kim Sajet, as part of his overhaul. Sajet maintained the backing of the Smithsonian's governing board, but she ultimately resigned.

At the White House, Trump has designed a notably partisan and subjective “Presidential Walk of Fame” featuring gilded photographs of himself and his predecessors — with the exception of Biden, who is represented by an autopen — along with plaques describing their presidencies.

The White House said at the time that Trump himself was a primary author of the plaques. Notably, Trump's two plaques praise the 45th and 47th president as a historically successful figure while those under Biden's autopen stand-in describe the 46th executive as “by far, the worst President in American History” who “brought our Nation to the brink of destruction.”

Barrow reported from Atlanta.

A photograph of President Donald Trump and a short plaque next to it are on display at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery's "American Presidents" exhibit on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026 in Washington. (AP Photo/Anna Johnson)

President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with oil executives in the East Room of the White House, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)