Rubio meets Hungary PM Orban in Budapest
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was in the Hungarian Capital on Monday for meetings with Prime Minister Viktor Orban and his Government during which they plan to sign a civilian-nuclear cooperation agreement heralded by US President Donald Trump. Trump has been outspoken in his support for the nationalist Orban in the Hungarian leader’s bid for reelection in two months.
Orban and his Fidesz party are facing their most serious challenge in the April 12 vote since the right-wing populist retook power in 2010. The stop in Hungary’s Capital follows Rubio’s visit to Slovakia on Sunday, after he previously attended the Munich Security Conference in Germany. Led by Euroskeptic populists who oppose support for Ukraine and vocally back Trump, Slovakia and Hungary represent friendly territory for Rubio as he pushes to shore up energy agreements with both Central European countries.
Widely considered Russian President Vladimir Putin’s most reliable advocate in the European Union, Orban has maintained warm relations with the Kremlin despite its war against Ukraine while currying favour with Trump and his MAGA movement. Many in MAGA and the broader conservative world view Hungary as a shining example of successful conservative nationalism, despite the erosion of its democratic institutions and its status as one of the EU’s poorest countries.
In a post on his Truth Social site earlier this month, Trump endorsed Orban for the coming elections and called him a “truly strong and powerful Leader” and “a true friend, fighter and WINNER.” Trump has praised Orban’s firm opposition to immigration, exemplified by a fence his Government erected on Hungary’s southern border in 2015 as hundreds of thousands of refugees fled Syria and other countries in the Middle East and Africa.
Other US conservatives admire Orban’s hostility to LGBTQ+ rights. His Government last year banned the popular Budapest Pride celebration and allowed facial recognition technology to be used to identify anyone participating despite the ban. It has also effectively banned same-sex adoption and disallowed transgender individuals from changing their sex in official documents.
