U.S. President Donald Trump gives a final heave to try and keep under-pressure Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in power.
The Trump administration is going all in to save its No. 1 ally in Europe.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance is set to land in Budapest on Tuesday for a high-stakes intervention that underscores how far the White House is willing to go to shore up Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán before the April 12 national election.
Orbán is flailing in the polls, as anti-corruption opposition candidate Péter Magyar surges ahead in his bid to claim power in Budapest after 16 years of leadership by the ruling Fidesz party.
Vance’s visit, scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday, was framed by Hungarian government spokesperson Zoltán Kovács as a celebration of deep ties between the two countries. “The visit highlights the strong and enduring alliance between Hungary and the United States,” he wrote on X on Friday.
The outspoken U.S. vice president will hold talks with the MAGA-allied Orbán and then give a public address, during a trip that directly involves Washington in the final stretch of a heated election campaign.
It echoes an American effort in Argentina last year, where U.S. officials including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent intervened to support President Javier Milei ahead of national midterm elections, to keep a key hemispheric, ideological ally in a strong position.
In multiple speeches and remarks over the 15 months since President Donald Trump returned to office, senior U.S. officials have made clear they believe Europe is on the wrong political path, and that the nationalist-populist Orbán is a model for the continent to follow.
The Hungarian prime minister has promoted his vision of illiberal democracy, while frequently clashing with Brussels over the EU’s direction on migration, Russia and minority rights.
Vance himself delivered an blistering speech at the Munich Security Conference in February last year, accusing European leaders of ignoring the will of their people, overturning elections, ignoring religious freedoms and not acting to halt illegal migration.
The Trump administration has been tight with Orbán since the U.S. president’s first term in office, and that now extends to a final pre-election push to keep him in power.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared a “golden age” in relations between the countries during a February visit, a signal of Hungary’s growing importance to the U.S. as relations with other European capitals fray.
While top Fidesz officials were hyped about Vance’s Hungary visit, not everyone is so impressed.
Magyar warned the visit could come with strings attached, hinting at undisclosed military arrangements and suggesting Washington may seek concessions in exchange for its support.
“Both Eastern and Western aid have a price,” he said, raising questions about what Hungary might be asked to give in return, and referencing ongoing reports that Russian contacts with senior Orbán officials run deeper than previously known.
The campaign has been roiled by those claims. Hungary’s Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó admitted this week he had been in contact with officials in Moscow as EU ministers weighed fresh sanctions on Kremlin allies, with reports suggesting Budapest pushed to water down measures targeting Russian elites and oil shipments.