--- description: "The fundamental question of our time is whether the West has the will to survive" title: Read Trump's Remarks on 'Defending Civilization' in Poland image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteb2332167c30a19f/6988d49b8fd2eecd18357dba/gettyimages-809707652.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Donald Trump](/tag/donald-trump/) ## Donald Trump Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Read President Trump's Remarks on 'Defending Civilization' in Poland by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 6, 2017 2:17 PM CUT  US President Donald Trump gives a speech in front of the Warsaw Uprising Monument on Krasinski Square on the sidelines of the Three Seas Initiative Summit in Warsaw, Poland, July 6, 2017. US President Donald Trump gives a speech in front of the Warsaw Uprising Monument on Krasinski Square on the sidelines of the Three Seas Initiative Summit in Warsaw, Poland, July 6, 2017.AFP Contributor—AFP/Getty Images by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 6, 2017 2:17 PM CUT President Trump [praised Poland](http://time.com/4846736/donald-trump-poland-speech/ "undefined") as an example for others who wish to “defend our civilization.” Speaking in [Warsaw](http://time.com/4846907/russia-vladimir-putin-president-donald-trump-warsaw-poland/ "undefined") Thursday, Trump said that Poland’s fights against the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany showed “the story of a people who have never lost hope, who have never been broken and who have never, ever forgotten who they are.” He then connected it to the fight to “preserve our civilization” in the age of terrorism. “The fundamental question of our time is whether the West has the will to survive,” he said. “Do we have the confidence in our values to defend them at any cost? Do we have enough respect for our citizens to protect our borders? Do we have the desire and the courage to preserve our civilization in the face of those who would subvert and destroy it?” Read a complete transcript of Trump’s [remarks](http://time.com/4846763/melania-trump-says-all-people-should-be-allowed-to-live-their-lives-without-fear/ "undefined"). --- > “” --- ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4846924/read-president-trumps-remarks-on-defending-civilization-in-poland/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4846924/read-president-trumps-remarks-on-defending-civilization-in-poland/"},"headline":"Read President Trump's Remarks on 'Defending Civilization' in Poland","datePublished":"2017-07-06T14:17:21.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T16:27:14.384Z","description":"\"The fundamental question of our time is whether the West has the will to survive\"","url":"https://time.com/4846924/read-president-trumps-remarks-on-defending-civilization-in-poland/","keywords":["Donald Trump","White House","Poland","transcripts"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteb2332167c30a19f/6988d49b8fd2eecd18357dba/gettyimages-809707652.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Ryan Teague Beckwith","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteb2332167c30a19f/6988d49b8fd2eecd18357dba/gettyimages-809707652.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"US President Donald Trump gives a speech in front of the Warsaw Uprising Monument on Krasinski Square on the sidelines of the Three Seas Initiative Summit in Warsaw, Poland, July 6, 2017.","caption":"US President Donald Trump gives a speech in front of the Warsaw Uprising Monument on Krasinski Square on the sidelines of the Three Seas Initiative Summit in Warsaw, Poland, July 6, 2017.","creditText":"AFP Contributor—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/donald-trump/","name":"Donald Trump"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4846924/read-president-trumps-remarks-on-defending-civilization-in-poland/","name":"Read President Trump's Remarks on 'Defending Civilization' in Poland"}}]}] ```