Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday issued a statement in support of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's reelection campaign.
Trump said in a statement released by his political action committee, Save America: ''Now with what's going on with Russia and Ukraine, among many other things, the great and wonderful people of Hungary need the continued strong leadership of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán more than ever. He is TOUGH, SMART, AND LOVES HIS COUNTRY. In the upcoming Election next month, he already has my Complete and Total Endorsement!''
Orbán, a far-right nationalist, was recently described by Foreign Policy as ''long one of Russian President Vladimir Putin's biggest cheerleaders in Europe,'' though he has moved to distance himself from Putin since Russia invasded Ukraine.
The Hungarian prime minister ''has had to redefine his whole campaign narrative,'' according to Tibor Dessewffy, a Hungarian sociologist who sits on the European Council on Foreign Relations.
''However, he is very good at changing his stripes when he needs to,'' Dessewffy continued. ''He can do this with his political talents and the fact that the country's media machine is behind him. Orbán's strategy for a long time has been to keep together his own camp, and that will be enough to win. But even for his own camp, it's not a very easy sell to shift from the old narrative.''
President Joe Biden has not endorsed Orbán, and last month the U.S. declined to invite Hungary to the virtual Summit for Democracy, making it the only member of the European Union not to receive an invitation.
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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