{"id":10654,"date":"2026-04-08T13:30:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T13:30:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/10654\/"},"modified":"2026-04-08T13:30:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T13:30:11","slug":"americans-in-budapest-vance-criticizes-brussels-trump-enthusiastically-praises-orban","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/10654\/","title":{"rendered":"Americans in Budapest: Vance criticizes Brussels; Trump enthusiastically praises Orb\u00e1n"},"content":{"rendered":"

US Vice President JD Vance, during an official visit, both criticized Brussels for election meddling and insisted that Washington was not trying to influence the outcome of the election, writes Politico.<\/a><\/p>\n

During the visit, Vance also called US President Donald Trump from the stage to give him the opportunity to praise Hungary\u2019s current Prime Minister, Viktor Orb\u00e1n, a key ally of the MAGA (Make America Great Again) movement in Europe.<\/p>\n

Hungary is holding parliamentary elections on the 12th of April, and Vance\u2019s critical remarks about the European Union came at the same time as expressing full support for Orb\u00e1n, although the US vice president emphasized that he did not come to Budapest to support the leader of the right-wing Fidesz party during the primaries. At a press conference at the Hungarian prime minister\u2019s office, Vance said: \u201cNow, I don\u2019t expect, of course, the people of Hungary to listen to the vice president of the United States, that\u2019s not primarily why I\u2019m here. But I did want to send a signal to everybody, particularly to the bureaucrats in Brussels, who have done everything that they can to hold down the people of Hungary, because they don\u2019t like the leader, who has actually stood up for the people of Hungary. And I think it\u2019s important to say that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vance later reiterated his stance, saying he had heard the EU sneering about normal, god-fearing Hungarians.<\/p>\n

CNBC reports<\/a> that while addressing the gathering at the Friendship Day event, Vance called Trump, allowing the president to address the event attendees remotely. Trump said:<\/p>\n

\u201cI love that Viktor, I\u2019ll tell you, he\u2019s a fantastic man, we\u2019ve had a tremendous relationship.\u201d<\/p>\n

The US president added that it is important to remember that Orb\u00e1n did not allow his country to be invaded, as others have done, that he has kept the country good, kept Hungarians in it and generally done a fantastic job.<\/p>\n

JD Vance puts an annoyed Trump on speakerphone at a Viktor Orb\u00e1n rally:<\/p>\n

\u201cHi. JD, could you give me a second? I\u2019m just\u2026 uh\u2026\u201d pic.twitter.com\/nVpRmpTNYu<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Headquarters (@HQNewsNow) April 7, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Politico<\/a> reported that Orb\u00e1n\u2019s main political rival P\u00e9ter Magyar, in turn, accused Vance of interfering in the election process, writing on the X that no country should interfere in elections, and added that Hungarian history is not written in Washington, Moscow or Brussels.<\/p>\n

Vance\u2019s statements against the EU echoed Orb\u00e1n\u2019s campaign narratives that bloc officials are interfering in the elections and turning Hungarians against him. Orb\u00e1n also tried to portray Magyar, the leader of the center-right Tisza party, as a puppet controlled by Brussels and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.<\/p>\n

Orb\u00e1n visited the White House last year, and Trump has repeatedly expressed his support for the current Hungarian prime minister. However, polls show that even American support has not changed Orb\u00e1n\u2019s popularity.<\/p>\n

Vance said on the 7th of April that Orb\u00e1n was the only stable leader in Europe on energy security and independence: \u201cIt is funny to watch prime ministers and leaders in some of the Western European capitals talk about the energy crisis, when, frankly, they should have been following the policies of Viktor Orb\u00e1n in Hungary, and if they had, the energy crisis that they were experiencing would be a lot less bad.\u201d<\/p>\n

However,<\/p>\n

it seems that the visit and expressed support of the US vice president are unlikely to cause any sharp turns in the elections,<\/p>\n

which are looking increasingly unfavorable for Orb\u00e1n. According to polls, Orb\u00e1n is well behind his main rival. Tisza\u2019s lead in the polls is linked to his sharp focus on Hungary\u2019s economic problems and his focus on the corruption and cronyism that surround Orb\u00e1n.<\/p>\n

Mario Bikarski, an analyst at risk intelligence firm Verisk Maplecroft, noted that the current US administration\u2019s reputation in Hungary is also currently in a negative light, meaning that Vance\u2019s visit could have the opposite effect on Orb\u00e1n\u2019s prospects.<\/p>\n

The Friendship Day event, which was supposedly intended to celebrate Hungarian-American friendship, was clearly part of the pre-election campaign. Orb\u00e1n emphatically praised Vance and his speech in Munich last year, where the vice president shamed Europe for ignoring the will of its people, overturning election results, restricting religious freedom and inaction on migration.<\/p>\n

Read also: Orb\u00e1n hopes for Trump help; Hungarian opposition demands explanation<\/a><\/p>\n

Read also: Election observation in Hungary: controversion and potential contestation<\/a><\/p>\n

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