JD Vance arrives in Hungary, hoping to boost Orban’s campaign
US Vice President JD Vance arrived in Hungary’s Capital on Tuesday in a bid to turn the tide of an election campaign where long-serving Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a close ally of President Donald Trump, is trailing in the polls.
Vance’s two-day trip, where he is scheduled to hold an official visit with Orban and later appear at one of his campaign rallies, was the clearest sign yet that the Trump administration was going all-in for an Orban victory when Hungarians go to the polls on Sunday.
In power since 2010, Orban is running for his fifth-straight term as prime minister. He and his nationalist-populist Fidesz party are facing their toughest race in two decades against a centre-right challenger, the Tisza party led by Peter Magyar, that could bring an end to Orban’s 16 years in power. Long accused by critics of taking over Hungary’s institutions, clamping down on press freedom and overseeing entrenched political corruption - charges he denies - Orban has become an icon in the global far-right movement. Trump has repeatedly endorsed Orban’s candidacy for reelection, and many in the Make America Great Again movement approve of the Hungarian leader’s opposition to immigration, curtailing of LGBTQ+ rights, and capture of the media and academia.
But with most independent polls showing a double-digit deficit for Fidesz among decided voters ahead of the April 12 vote, Orban has sought to boost his profile by appearing publicly with his international admirers.
The vice president’s visit wasn’t the first sign of US support for Orban.
Hungary, which has broken with most European Union countries by refusing to assist Ukraine with financial assistance or weapons to ward off Russia’s full-scale invasion, has remained firmly committed to purchasing Russian energy despite EU efforts to wean off such supplies.
Late last month, Orban hosted dozens of allies from around Europe and beyond at the Hungarian iteration of the Conservative Political Action Conference, and at a meeting of the far-right Patriots for Europe party family, the third-largest group in the European Parliament.
