Trump Gives Glowing Endorsement to ‘Strong and Powerful Leader’ Viktor Orbán As He Faces Tough Reelection Fight

(AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File)

President Donald Trump has given a glowing endorsement to Viktor Orbán as the Hungarian leader runs for reelection in a race with the potential to bump him from power after 16 years.

Trump posted to Truth Social Friday, “Highly Respected Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor Orbán, is a truly strong and powerful Leader, with a proven track record of delivering phenomenal results. He fights tirelessly for, and loves, his Great Country and People, just like I do for the United States of America.”

Orbán has served as Hungary’s prime minister since 2010, and previously held the post from 1998 to 2002. He has been criticized as an authoritarian leader who put a stranglehold on free speech and open elections.

Trump has lauded Orbán’s “hard stance” on immigration, saying, “He literally has accepted no one over the years. Think of how much greater [European] countries would be if they didn’t have the tremendous crime that has come in with the immigration.”

Trump’s endorsement continued:

Viktor works hard to Protect Hungary, Grow the Economy, Create Jobs, Promote Trade, Stop Illegal Immigration, and Ensure LAW AND ORDER! Relations between Hungary and the United States have reached new heights of cooperation and spectacular achievement under my Administration, thanks largely to Prime Minister Orbán. I look forward to continuing working closely with him so that both of our Countries can further advance this tremendous path to SUCCESS and cooperation. I was proud to ENDORSE Viktor for Re-Election in 2022, and am honored to do so again. Viktor Orbán is a true friend, fighter, and WINNER, and has my Complete and Total Endorsement for Re-Election as Prime Minister of Hungary — HE WILL NEVER LET THE GREAT PEOPLE OF HUNGARY DOWN!

Reuters reported that Orbán faces his strongest opponent in 10 years in Péter Magyar, leader of the Tisza party.

Orbán “has cast Hungary’s election on April 12 as a stark choice between ‘war or peace’, saying his opponents would drag the country into the war raging next door in Ukraine,” Reuters reported.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!