JD Vance Claims Ukraine Has Attempted to Rig US Elections in Presser With Putin Ally

 

Vice President JD Vance joined Hungarian strongman Viktor Orban for a press conference in Budapest on Tuesday and accused Ukraine of election interference while boosting the close ally of Russia’s Vladimir Putin.

Orban, who has been in power for 16 years and systematically eroded Hungary’s democratic norms and freedoms, is facing an uphill battle for reelection despite kneecapping his opposition in the past. Vance vowed during the presser that Orban “is, of course, going to win” the general election on Sunday.

While taking questions from reporters, Vance was asked about Ukraine’s opposition to Orban, who is one of the loudest pro-Putin voices in Europe.

“So to answer your question, yes, we’re certainly aware that there are elements within the Ukrainian intelligence services that try to put their thumb on the scale of American elections, on Hungarian elections,” Vance claimed, adding:

This is just what they do. This is part of the cost of doing business within some elements of their system. I try to remind myself that Ukraine, like the United States, is a very complicated place. There are good people and there are bad people. There are people that try to interfere in others’ elections. And there are people who actually just say, you know what, we believe in sovereignty for everybody. And that’s what we support. For example, there were people in the Ukrainian system who were campaigning with Democrats literally in the weeks before the presidential election where Donald Trump won very comfortably in November of 2024.

So I’m aware of that stuff, but I don’t think Victor lets that stuff get to him. I don’t let that stuff get to me. We’re here to try to solve the problems for the people that we represent. And whatever certain elements within the Ukrainian system think about me or think about anybody else, I really believe it’s in the best interest of Ukraine, the best interest of Europe and Hungary, the best interest of the United States for this war to come to as rapid of a close.

Watch the clip above via Russian state news RT.

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Alex Griffing is a Senior Editor at Mediaite. Send tips via email: alexanderg@mediaite.com. Follow him on Twitter: @alexgriffing