Former President Donald Trump met with Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida on Friday, with the former president praising Mr. Orban as a “fantastic leader,” while the Hungarian conservative said President Trump is someone who can “bring us peace.”
Over the past several years, President Trump and Mr. Orban have on numerous occasions directed words of praise towards one other, with the former president describing the Hungarian leader as a key figure in the worldwide conservative movement.
Mr. Orban traveled to Florida on Friday to visit President Trump at his Mar-a-Lago home, where he was given a tour of the residence and took part in an hour-long meeting with senior aides.
The Trump campaign said in a readout of the meeting that President Trump and Mr. Orban met “to discuss a wide range of issues affecting Hungary and the United States, including the paramount importance of strong and secure borders to protect the sovereignty of each nation.”
Mr. Orban is admired by many conservatives in the United States for his tough immigration policies and his ardent defense of national sovereignty.
The United States has been gripped by an illegal immigration crisis of historic proportions, with Republicans blaming President Joe Biden’s policies for fueling the influx.
President Trump singled out Mr. Orban’s tough immigration policies for praise in a post on social media after the meeting.
“Hungary is a Safe Country because of his Strong Immigration Policies, and as long as he is in charge, it always will be,” he said in a post on Truth Social.
Mr. Orban has faced criticism in some circles for his self-proclaimed illiberal tendencies, close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and his opposition to Western funding for the Ukraine war.
The Hungarian leader has said in the past that the quickest path to ending the Ukraine war is to block weapons shipments to Kyiv.
‘Fantastic Leader’
President Trump joked about the criticism Mr. Orban has faced for his supposed authoritarian inclinations in a brief speech at Mar-a-Lago, a video of which was shared on social media by the Hungarian leader.
Mr. Orban “is a non-controversial figure because he says, ‘this is the way it’s going to be,’ and that’s the end of it,” President Trump said, drawing laughter from the room full of attendees at his Florida resort.
“Right? He’s the boss,“ President Trump continued, before adding in a more serious tone, ”No—he’s a great leader, fantastic leader.”
For his part, Mr. Orban took to X to express the view that a second Trump presidency would contribute to world peace.
“It was a pleasure to visit President @realDonaldTrump today,” Mr. Orban wrote.
“We need leaders in the world who are respected and can bring peace. He is one of them! Come back and bring us peace, Mr. President!”
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden had harsh words of criticism over the Trump–Orban meeting.
“You know who he’s meeting with today down in Mar-a-Lago? Orbán of Hungary, who’s stated flatly that he doesn’t thinks democracy works, he’s looking for dictatorship,” President Biden said during a campaign stop in Pennsylvania on Friday.
“I see a future where we defend democracy, not diminish it,” he added.
Mr. Orban served as prime minister from 1998 to 2002, before returning to the position in 2010.
‘Bring Us Peace’
In May 2023, the Hungarian leader spoke to Republicans and European allies at the second annual meeting of the Conservative Political Action Coalition (CPAC) Europe in Budapest, Hungary.
During his prepared remarks, Mr. Orban claimed there wouldn’t be a military conflict in Eastern Europe if President Trump were in office.
“I’m sure if President Trump would be the president, there would be no war in Ukraine and Europe,” Mr. Orban said at the time. “Come back, Mr. President. Make America great again and bring us peace.”
Mr. Orban has called Hungary an “incubator” where experiments on the future of conservative policies are carried out.
Hungary is the place where we didn’t just talk about defeating the progressives and liberals and causing a conservative Christian political turn, but we actually did it,” Mr. Orban said.
He also decried liberalism as a “virus,” criticized “woke culture,” and rejected the “LGBTQ lobby.”
Mr. Orban has faced a torrent of criticism in some circles over his various positions, including with respect to Ukraine.
The Hungarian leader has said he believes Kyiv can’t win the war and that the best way to resolve the conflict is to pursue an immediate ceasefire after negotiations.
Mr. Orban has been a fierce critic of Western arms shipments to Ukraine, arguing that it only serves to prolong the war, leading to more devastation of Ukraine and loss of life.
