For a full minute of the presidential debate, Donald Trump praised Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. It was quite the odd tirade, but who exactly is this Orbán? And what is the former president’s relationship to him?
Trump was quizzed by moderator David Muir over his refusal to accept his loss to President Joe Biden in the 2020 election. It’s been a topic of contention for a huge portion of this election season — after all, the convicted felon’s post-2020 election actions directly led to an insurrection attempt at the Capitol on January 6th, 2021.
When asked for her thoughts on her opponent’s opinion regarding the 2020 election, Kamala Harris was able to push Donald’s buttons, which is a very easy thing to do. She stated, “We cannot afford to have a president of the United States who attempts, as he did in the past, to upend the will of the voters.” She followed up by claiming that she had traveled the world as vice president and spoken to numerous world leaders who all view Trump as a joke, “world leaders are laughing at Donald Trump.”
Donald responded in typical childish fashion, citing a supposed quote from Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, whom he characterized as “a strongman … a tough guy” (does Trump even know what “strongman” means?), and who he claimed had said that “the most respected, most feared person is Donald Trump.” Basically, his whole response to Kamala’s passing dig boiled down to “nuh-uh, this strong guy thinks I’m really cool and awesome.”
So who is Viktor Orbán?
As far as character references go, you probably wouldn’t want to use this guy to back you up. The Hungarian Prime Minister is notorious for his right-wing policies, known for his “illiberal democracy” approach according to an article from AP News. He’s restricted immigration and LGBTQ+ rights, as well as bringing in legislation to tighten control over the country’s press.
But perhaps Orbán’s most disturbing stance is his repeated insistence that European and non-European “races” shouldn’t “mix.” In a 2022 speech, Orbán stated “We [Hungarians] are not a mixed race … and we do not want to become a mixed race,” and asserted that those countries where races mixed were “no longer nations.” He soon thereafter claimed to have been alluding to “cultures” and not race in the, well, racist sense, but the dog whistle was clear to many worried onlookers within and outside Hungary. One of Orbán’s advisors, sociologist Zsuzsa Hegedüs, even resigned in protest. In an open letter to the Prime Minster making clear some terrifying historical parallels, Hegedüs pointed out that his remarks had “turned into an openly racist speech, which even Goebbels would have liked, it went so beyond the limit of acceptability.”
On top of that, Orbán brought in changes to the political system which make it easier to keep his party in power, and he’s pretty close with Putin, too.
Orbán has been in power for 14 straight years since 2010, and he also served four years as prime minister from 1998-2002. Yeah, this is definitely the kind of guy I could see Trump getting along with. But most normal people would not willingly associate themselves with someone who many consider to be a racist, kleptocrat dictator.
What is Donald Trump’s relationship with Viktor Orbán?
During his presidency Trump and Orbán seemingly got along pretty well, judging from remarks made by the former president. In 2019 Donald praised the “tremendous job” Viktor was doing, and went on to say he was “Highly respected. Respected all over Europe. Probably, like me, a little bit controversial, but that’s okay.”
After his presidency, Trump remained good friends with the prime minister, even having him come to visit his beloved Mar-a-Lago estate in March. Around the same time, the businessman suddenly secured the $91.63 million bond required to pay for the E. Jean Carroll case. …Hmm, could Trump and Orbán be more than just friends?
Trump’s campaign has taken a leaf out of Orbán’s book this election season, embracing the prime minister’s approach with Project 2025 looking awfully similar to what is happening to Hungarian politics right now. Despite trying to distance himself from the controversial project, even stating during the debate that he has nothing to do with it, Trump clearly admires what Orbán has done in Hungary, and maybe even hopes to replicate it himself.
Harris’ campaign has claimed many times that Trump is a danger to democracy. With his connections to leaders like Orbán and Putin, as well as his promise to be a dictator on “day one,” it’s easy to see why many are concerned about what will happen should he win in November.