“Perceptions of the current U.S. administration have been turning more negative in Hungary,” said Mario Bikarski, an analyst at risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft. “Vance’s visit could have the opposite effect on Orbán’s popularity than the one intended.”
Orbán and Vance continued to riff off each other at a rally later in the evening at a football stadium. The event was officially billed to celebrate the “day of Hungarian-American friendship,” but its campaign purpose was clear.
Orbán pointedly praised Vance and his Munich speech last year, in which the vice president chastised Europeans for ignoring the will of their people, overturning elections, ignoring religious freedoms and not acting to halt illegal migration.
On reaching the stage for his speech, Vance phoned Trump. On his first attempt the call went to voicemail. But after getting through Vance put Trump on the speaker. “I am big fan of Viktor,” Trump announced, praising Orbán as “a fantastic man,” who “did not allow people to storm your country and invade your country like the people have and ruined other countries.”
Again Vance focused much of his speech on “the bureaucrats in Brussels, who should not be listened to.”
“We have to get Orbán re-elected as prime minister of Hungary, don’t we?” Vance told the supporters of the governing Fidesz party, to rapturous applause.
This story has been updated.