Arya News - The US president has praised the Hungarian leader for his hardline approach to immigration and nationalist policies.
United States President Donald Trump has used his social media platform to back fellow right-wing leader Viktor Orban before Hungary’s upcoming parliamentary elections.
Trump’s endorsement came in a Truth Social post on Thursday, where he praised Orban as a “truly strong and powerful leader”.
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list of 3 items list 1 of 3 All the big elections to look out for in 2026 list 2 of 3 Hungary charges Budapest mayor for allowing banned pride march list 3 of 3 Hungary jails German activist for 8 years over attacks on neo-Nazi rally end of list “He fights tirelessly for, and loves, his Great Country and People, just like I do for the United States of America,” Trump said.
Drawing parallels between himself and Orban, Trump explained they both pursued efforts to “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 Orban,” Trump wrote.
“I was proud to ENDORSE Viktor for Re-Election in 2022, and am honored to do so again.”
Slipping popularity
Orban has had the longest term of any prime minister in Hungary’s history, first taking up the role from 1998 to 2002 and then resuming the prime minister’s seat from 2010 through the present.
But his party, the far-right Fidesz alliance, faces hurdles in keeping control of Hungary’s parliament in the upcoming April 12 election.
A poll released on February 3 from the research firm 21 Kutatokozpon found that the centre-right Tisza party had a seven-point lead over Fidesz.
Among respondents surveyed over the past month, Tisza obtained 35 percent support, compared with 28 percent for Fidesz.
Some of the slump in Orban’s popularity has been credited to a sputtering economy and disillusionment with the prime minister’s embrace of illiberalism, a consolidation of power that critics compare to fascism.
Human rights groups have consistently criticised Orban’s government for democratic backsliding and hardline policies. Orban, for instance, has restricted asylum policies, and his government has been accused of investigating dissidents under the guise of rooting out threats to “national sovereignty”.
But there have been growing signs of discontent with those policies.
Despite a government ban on Pride events last year, tens of thousands of Hungarians rallied on the streets of Budapest in June, waving rainbow flags to show their support for the LGBTQ community. The march was considered one of the largest Hungary has seen in recent history.
The government, however, has taken punitive action in the aftermath of that march. Late last month, prosecutors filed criminal charges against Budapest Mayor Gergely Karacsony for organising the parade.
Support for right-wing victories
Still, Trump has supported Orban and embraced his platform, while condemning other European countries for allegedly censoring right-wing voices.
Both leaders have both faced criticism for their nationalistic, anti-immigrant agenda, including comments that appear to demonise foreign nationals.
Trump recently hosted Orban at the White House in November, where their delegations discussed increasing trade between their two countries.
Orban’s visit to Washington, DC also included a sit-down with Eduardo Bolsonaro, the son of Brazil’s former far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, who has been convicted of plotting a coup.
Like Trump, Orban has publicly denounced the charges against the elder Bolsonaro as politically motivated. The former Brazilian president is currently serving a 27-year prison sentence.
“We stand firmly with the Bolsonaros in these challenging times — friends and allies who never give up,” Orban wrote online after the November 6 meeting. “Keep fighting: political witch-hunts have no place in democracy, truth and justice must prevail!”
More recently, Trump and Orban met again in Davos, Switzerland, where Trump invited Hungary to join his newly created Board of Peace.
Thursday’s endorsement from Trump is the latest example of the US president taking an active role in foreign elections.
In October, for instance, Trump has threatened to withhold aid from Argentina if its voters failed to back the party of libertarian President Javier Milei in its midterm elections.
Trump also extended financial support to Argentina in the lead-up to the race, which saw Milei’s party triumph.
Then, in November, Trump publicly backed the far-right candidate in Honduras’s election, once again threatening to sever aid if the election did not go his way. There, too, the Trump-backed candidate won .
Trump’s endorsements and threats, however, have raised concerns that the US might be using its economic heft and political influence to influence elections abroad, thereby undermining foreign democracies.