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US President Donald Trump endorsed Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in a post on Truth Social, ahead of a key election in April where the Hungarian leader could lose his grip on power.
Orbán has been office in Hungary since 2010 with a super majority, but polls show Péter Magyar’s Tisza Party is running ahead in opinion polls and poses a serious challenge to the Hungarian premier.
Trump has a history of actively supporting his right-wing conservative political allies. He supported Japan’s Sanae Takaichi and Argentina’s Javier Milei in their campaigns. Both emerged as winners.
A controversial National Security Strategy of the US states that Washington relies on nationalistic, hard-right forces in Europe to prevent “civilizational decline” in Europe.
“I proudly supported Viktor in the 2022 elections, and it is an honor to do so again,” Trump said on Thursday.
Trump referred to Orbán as a true friend, a fighter and winner, and he praised his hardline on illegal migration.
In January, Trump sent a letter to Orbán, suggesting he would visit Hungary ahead of the elections. But no date has been set.
Earlier this week, Orbán said he aims to “lure” Trump into a visit to Hungary, adding that a Budapest summit to hold between the US, Russia, and Ukraine is still on the table.
“There is also a definite agreement that I made with the American president and the Russian president, which says that if there is progress and there is a peace summit, it will be in Budapest,” Orbán said.
According to pollster 21 Research Center, Tisza is leading with 35% of the vote, ahead of the governing Fidesz-KDNP coalition with 28%.
The election will be held on April 12.