U.S. Vice President JD Vance will travel to Hungary on Tuesday on a mission to boost the electoral campaign of the country's nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who faces the toughest re-election bid of his political career, Reuters reports.
During the two-day visit, coming just days before the April 12 parliamentary elections, Vance will meet with Orban and attend a campaign rally with him, according to Hungarian government sources.
"I'm looking forward to seeing my good friend Viktor, and we'll talk about any number of things related to the US-Hungary relationship," Vance told reporters before departing Washington, adding relations with Europe and Ukraine will be discussed.
The rare in-person gesture of support for Orban by a senior U.S. official is the latest example of President Donald Trump's efforts to prop up like-minded right-wing leaders, including in Argentina and Japan.
Opinion polls show Orban, who Trump has already publicly endorsed and praised as "a truly strong and powerful leader," and his Fidesz party face the most challenging election since returning to power in 2010. In most independent surveys, they trail the center-right Tisza party, led by Peter Magyar.
Orban’s self-described “illiberal democracy” mirrors key themes of Trump-era America: harsh anti-immigration policies, disdain for liberal norms, hostility toward global institutions, and attacks on the media, universities and nonprofit groups. He was the first European leader to endorse Trump during his 2016 presidential bid.
"JD Vance's visit is not routine diplomacy but a clear endorsement of Viktor Orban ahead of the toughest election of his life," said Asli Aydintasbas, visiting fellow at The Brookings Institution think tank.
"For the Trump administration, Orban is not just a fellow conservative but a central figure in efforts to establish an illiberal bloc inside Europe. If Orban falls, the movement would suffer," Aydintasbas said.
Orban has long been at loggerheads with the European Union over a range of issues, including Ukraine. He has maintained cordial ties with Moscow, refuses to send weapons to Ukraine, and says Kyiv can never join the EU.
