WATCH: CNN Captures ‘All of Budapest’ Hitting the Streets to Party After Trump Buddy Viktor Orban Concedes Hungarian Election
CNN senior international correspondent Melissa Bell reported “all of Budapest” was out reveling in the streets after Viktor Orban conceded the Hungarian election on Sunday night, with Bell reporting the country was in a state of shock and ecstasy that Orban’s 16-year run as the country’s prime minister was ending.
Bell joined anchor Fredricka Whitfield live from Budapest, where the party was going hard.
“A fair amount of disbelief, a lot of joy, a great deal of excitement,” Bell reported. “We’ve watched the grown men leading this party crying [and] hugging each other earlier down by the Danube, where they were holding their celebrations.”
The CNN broadcast captured happy Hungarians yelping and lighting celebratory cigarettes in the background. One young man mugged for the camera before a group of chanting Hungarians started partying behind Bell, who rolled with it pretty easily and kept reporting.
Orban’s defeat comes after President Donald Trump had lobbied hard for his pal to win the election and after Vice President JD Vance traveled to Hungary last week to try and help Orban rally support. Trump called Vance while he was speaking at a rally and saluted Orban for making sure Hungary had not been “invaded” like other European countries.
“You have a man that kept your country strong and he kept your country good, and you don’t have problems with all of the problems that so many other countries have because they let their countries be invaded. And you don’t have that problem because of Viktor Orban — that’s the only reason you don’t have that problem,” Trump said. “There was a lot of pressure on him to do it, and those other countries made big mistakes. So I wish you a lot of luck.”
Ultimately Trump and Vance’s backing didn’t matter, with Orban conceding to Péter Magyar’s centre-right opposition party on Sunday.
Bell reported it was an “extraordinary landslide” for Maygar; she added it was an “astonishing” turnout for the country, with about 75% turnout expected when all votes are counted.
“[That is] certainly the largest that this country has seen since the fall of communism,” she said.
Watch above via CNN.
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