Viktor Orbán’s political director discusses Putin, Ukraine war, Trump and more

as world leaders depart the NATO Summit in Washington one of them will make a stop tonight at Mara Lago to meet with Donald Trump Victor Orban is hungary’s prime minister a problematic NATO Ally who has also become an icon within certain factions of the American conservative movement his political director spoke with our Margaret Brennan ahead of that meeting your prime minister is he delivering a message that comes out of his meetings with Vladimir Putin and xiin ping is he delivering one to Mr Trump no it’s um our our duty according to our understanding is to collect information uh and to collect messages we are a small country so we are not a decisive player in this conflict but but no one is um there or brave enough to play a mediative role I think somebody has to take action because like but did you see any proof that there was any interest on the part of Russia in actually ending the war was there any me message that Vladimir Putin conveyed well I I think that the current discussions about peace are going to a bad Direction in general because because everybody believes or at least communicates that this war will end in a way that somebody’s is dictating a detailed peace plan peace plan and the other party will accept it but it’s not going to happen in those conflicts where you don’t have a clear winning or losing side um a a PE peace process goes the other way around so first uh restore communication channels mm and then you know try to agree on a short-term ceasefire uh and then use it as a window of opportunity to sit down and negotiate more complicated things and I think it’s a positive sign from all uh it’s a positive sign from all sides that we were received in Kev in Beijing in Moscow and in in Washington as well so back in March when your prime minister went to maral Lago and visited Donald Trump um for the first time that that we know of he gave an interview afterwards and he said uh your prime minister that Donald Trump told him the United States would not give another Penny to Ukraine if he’s reelected president and that would end the war is that still your understanding and if that is the case doesn’t that just end a war on Russia’s terms and Russia started this war it sounds like defeat for Ukraine well but Donald Trump when he was a president we have we have firsthand experience he was a president for like four years and back at that time the word the entire word was a more peaceful and stable uh place he did have really big diplomatic Su success in Middle East uh Abraham records there was no conflict in in Ukraine so what we experience um is that he is capable of doing something and he’s capable of stopping the war U he has to know how can he can achieve uh his goals and the American goals but uh but the current American Administration strategy which is about continuation the war and fueling further conflict it according to our view it leads us nowhere but Russia invaded in 2014 Donald Trump did nothing to remove those troops he did provide Javelin missiles to Ukraine to fight the Russians so he he could have stopped a war then theoretically and didn’t the US ambassador David prman gave a pretty scathing speech last week um he said no other Ally or partner of the United States is overtly and tirelessly campaigning for a specific candidate in the US election and is convinced it only helps and he thinks your prime minister is convinced it helps Hungary or at least helps him personally I’m not sure which um which is it well me neither so I we are not campaigning for anybody we are just European allies and we are here to explain what the consequences of American policy decision Minister has endorsed Donald Trump yeah American policy decisions are on us this is what we do and we are very open in that that the previous administration their policy decisions were much better for Europe according to our understanding and for Hungary than the current Administration decisions uh this is the American Democratic side sorry to say that but it’s a it’s proven it’s a factual thing who are financing Hungarian opposition liberal opposition through media through NOS through uh think tanks through direct political financing because they want to get rid off with conservative governments why I think the US is a NATO member we are allies yes I AG if your country was attack the United States military would be required to defend it and if your country attack the Hungarian military will be here to help you but exactly and and has in other conflicts but that’s sort of the point which is why mix idiology into it is because the US and Hungary are allies why come out this is my in an election year and endorse Donald Trump so the because it makes it about ideology no no I mean it’s a respon it’s a response because really I don’t know whether the American um um voters aware of the fact that their money goes directly uh through channels to finance opposition everywhere um Finance those governments which are from an ideological point of view disagree with the current Administration and Margaret his prime minister Victor Orban is also very controversial ESP especially because of his recent meeting with Russia’s President Vladimir uh Putin but he has a lot of love from American conservatives including JD Vance a potential vice president pick for Donald Trump he just came on your show Face the Nation and said as much is that the case throughout the conservative part movement no but it is such an interesting Fascination that people as prominent as JD Vance praise things that Victor orbon did like seizing control of state universities Tucker Carlson has really praised what Victor orbon has done and to be clear the US state department has criticized him for cracking down on a free press uh reporters Without Borders calls him a predator of press Freedom restricting uh the freedom of Judiciary I mean he has really ruled out this law that is completely anti-gay and and arguably discriminatory so there is the reason that European leaders point to him and say he is a problem child he’s also stood directly in the way of approval for Aid to Ukraine he’s this is the only country that’s not giving military aid they’re giving other kinds of support but this is one of those contrasts you’re seeing in the conservative movement it was uh leader McConnell who went to the floor of the senate in March and said to conservatives this is not who you take your cues from he’s cozing up to xiin Ping Vladimir Putin and Iran uh something that director orbon pushed back on saying this is all with an interest of Peace Margaret Brennan thank you so much

As world leaders depart the NATO summit in Washington, D.C., Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán will stop Thursday night at Mar-a-Lago to meet with former President Donald Trump. The problematic NATO ally has also become an icon within certain factions of the American conservative movement. His political director, Balázs Orbán, spoke with CBS News’ Margaret Brennan ahead of the meeting.

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21 comments

  4. Host is arguing Trump did nothing to stop the war that happened before and after his time in office? Bias on display

  6. orban he speak to new president and tell him how the war should end. He got details from Putin. And he was coach by Xi 😂😂😂😂. Awake guys. See the big picture

  9. Our tax money is shared and used by NATO just to make wars globally. Media is the gossiping entity to set the fire. Elites are the beneficiaries. Their Children are to continue the cycle of global disparity to make more wealth. It has been Neo liberal thought . White mans dilemma.

  12. Seems a little rich when Orban is trying to annex Hungarian land lost in WWI from Ukraine, yet at the same time to convince Ukraine to give up it's land.

  13. People should know that Hungarian Nazis where Hitler's most loyal and atrocious ones. Hungary sent 2/3 of it's Jewish population to the death camps. It's time for the media to put a spot light on Hungary's past.

  14. Orban has visited the US a couple of times now since Biden has been in office, but has disrespected the White House every time he's been here and went straight to the shadow white house in the Florida swamps or to a CPAC convention. There's something wrong with this picture.

  15. Merkel and France tried to negotiate a peace plan with Putin since 2014, but Putin broke every one of the Minsk agreements. Here we are with Hungary trying to reinvent the wheel.

  16. At this point Hungary is not an ally of the US/NATO and not representing the EU and European values in the current capacity as the rotating EU presidency, but working in the interests of BRICS+ countries which some of them are hostile to US interests.

  17. This Orban guy (must be a cousin of Victor Orban) clearly admitted that Hungary is suppressing the opposition, a free press and an independent judiciary. Project 2025 is very closely modeled after the Hungarian illiberal democracy model.

  19. So, when Orban says Trump is better for Europa, this is wrong but when the US Gouverment financing whit US taxpayers money the opposition in Hungary is tottaly fine… 🤡🤡🤡

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