Reading time: 2 minutes 
Summary for: Trump calls Czech PM on Boxing Day to discuss war, migration, and EuropeCzech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš said he spoke by phone on Friday with U.S. President Donald Trump, discussing topics including war, migration, Europe, and the Visegrad Four, according to a statement Babiš posted on the social network X.
Babiš said the call had been prepared for several days and that he did not believe it would happen until the last moment. “For us, for Czechia, it is good news that the American president called us on the second Christmas holiday [Boxing Day],” Babiš said.
According to Babiš, the discussion focused on war, migration, Europe, and the Visegrád Group, which includes the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, and Hungary. The draft program statement of Babiš’ government identifies the renewal and strengthening of relations within the V4 as an important foreign policy priority, with cooperation based on mutual respect, common interests, and effective regional cooperation.
The call followed Trump’s public congratulations last week on Babiš’ recent appointment as prime minister, posted on Trump’s social network Truth Social. “It is great to see Andrej Babiš reappointed as Prime Minister of the Czech Republic,” Trump wrote.
The Czech prime minister said the conversation also touched on a past visit to the White House, when he and Trump met in March 2019 along with their wives, Monika Babišová and Melania Trump.
Trump said he believed the two leaders would achieve success together in areas such as defense, energy, and migration, similar to the period when their previous terms overlapped. Trump served as U.S. president from January 2017 to January 2021 and returned to the White House this January. Babiš was the Czech prime minister from 2017 to 2021 and officially took office earlier this month.
Babiš said last week that he was pleased by Trump’s congratulations, but that another meeting is not currently on the agenda. He added that it is more important for European leaders and the American president to find a way to end the war in Ukraine.
International media outlets like The Economist and The New York Times have referred to the Czech prime minister as “the Czech Trump,” due to Babiš’ populist style and status as a billionaire businessman.
