Vance tries to boost ailing MAGA ally ahead of Hungary election

BUDAPEST, Hungary — Vice President JD Vance has repeatedly said he did not come to Hungary to tell people how to vote in the upcoming election.

Subscribe to read this story ad-free

Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.

That changed during the resounding finale of his speech in Budapest on Tuesday evening.

“Do you wish to defend sovereignty and democracy, the truth and the God of our ancestors? Vance asked Hungarian voters, cheered by a standing ovation and screams echoing through the city’s MTK Sportpark arena. “So, my friends, go to the polls this weekend, support Viktor Orbán, because he stands for you and he stands for all these things. »

Vance flew to Hungary ostensibly to celebrate a “Hungarian-American Friendship Day.” In fact, he was the star attraction at a rally for Orbán, Hungary’s prime minister and MAGA favorite, who is trailing in the polls days before Sunday’s national election.

Orbán’s challenger is Peter Magyar, who was once a member of Orbán’s Fidesz party but now accuses the outgoing president of endemic corruption. If the polls are correct, the Magyar Tisza party is poised to take power in the parliamentary vote.

Taking a break from negotiations to end the war in Iran, Vance arrived in the middle of a feverish campaign. He said the United States would work with whoever wins, before joking that he knew Orbán would win anyway.

“We need to get Viktor Orbán re-elected as Prime Minister of Hungary, right? » asked Vance. Previously, he accused the European Union of “foreign interference in the elections”, referring to the freezing of billions of euros in EU funding due to Hungary’s democratic backsliding.

The irony was not lost on some observers.

“He is so openly campaigning for Orbán at this point that this cannot be considered a regular state visit,” said Samuel Barczy, 27, one of the few protesters outside Vance’s speech.

“As you can see, there are not many protesters,” he told NBC News near Sandor Palace, the neoclassical presidential residence where Vance and Orbán held their previous press conference. “But that’s because few Hungarians know who Vance is.”

Indeed, it is highly unusual for a senior American politician – or any figure from a Western country – to travel in the final days of a foreign election campaign to support a struggling ally. EU spokesman Thomas Regnier responded to Vance’s visit and criticism by saying in a statement that “in Europe, elections are the only choice of citizens.”

Vance’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. On Wednesday, he defended himself against allegations of foreign interference at an event in Budapest.

“Foreign influence is when other governments threaten, cajole and try to use their economic influence to tell you how to vote,” he said. “Whether you like Viktor Orbán or not, whether you agree with this or that policy, this is fundamentally an attack on your sovereignty.”

He is far from being the only right-wing figure trying to keep his pioneer in power. A video from Orban earlier this year showed a compilation of endorsements from Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, Javier Milei of Argentina and Marine le Pen of France.

The Hungarian leader claimed “deep involvement” in shaping Trump’s message and political strategy. But more than that, he is a pioneer of the international populist far-right, who speaks out against immigration, Muslims, the LGBTQ+ community and green policies. On the contrary, he plays on this image of the bane of traditional politicians, calling his administration an “illiberal democracy”.

The EU and many independent researchers say Hungary is even past this stage. The bloc says Orbán’s Hungary can no longer be considered a full-fledged democracy but rather an “elective autocracy”, having restricted judicial independence and press freedom. The country is also ranked as the most corrupt in Europe.

Orbán and his supporters deny the idea that Hungary has become less democratic, citing the current tight election race as evidence. The prime minister calls such foreign comments about his country an attempt to interfere in his domestic politics, telling the crowd on Tuesday: “I recommend everyone to leave Hungary alone.”

He also presented the elections in apocalyptic terms.

On Tuesday, he said it was not simply a vote on his political future, but rather called on “freedom-loving Americans and Hungarians” to “unite and save Western civilization.” He announced that Hungary would launch a “reconquista” of European institutions – referring to a 700-year military campaign by Catholic states to retake the Iberian Peninsula from Muslim rule.

For Fidesz and Orbán, the stakes are high.

If the Magyar Party wins a two-thirds qualified majority, it could launch “investigations into the corruption of the Orbán government,” the Atlantic Council think tank said at a press briefing on Monday. “Orbán’s response to an electoral defeat would likely be provocative and he would almost certainly demand a recount.” Indeed, he echoed Trump’s false claims that he won the 2020 US presidential election.

The campaign has been heated, filled with allegations of Kremlin-inspired “false flag” operations, wiretapping and even a rumored sex tape involving Magyar himself.

But even though Vance’s intervention was another dramatic moment, it may not have a material impact on the outcome, according to Gabor Halmai, professor emeritus at Eötvös Loránd University of Hungary. Halmai said there was no guarantee that Vance’s arrival would improve Orbán’s electoral chances – and might even hinder them.

Trump polls are higher in Hungary than in many other countries. But even then, he remains a divisive figure, with 46 percent of people having little or no confidence in him, according to a Pew Research Center poll in June last year.

“I don’t know if this type of support will be positive for Orbán,” Halmai said. “Trump is not very popular among many people.”

Orbán also has a complex and often tense relationship with the EU.

Hungary is one of 27 members of the bloc, but Orbán has often acted as an internal thorn. Last month, he vetoed a major 90 billion euro ($104 billion) loan intended to help Ukraine resist Russia’s ongoing onslaught.

Many independent geopolitical analysts, as well as critics, point to Orbán’s close relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin as the reason for his sabotage tactics. Orbán denies this, saying he is simply acting in Hungary’s national interest and trying to stay out of the war.

Whatever the motivations, Orbán, Putin, and Vance often echo each other in their hostile tone toward the EU and its continued support for Ukraine. On Tuesday, Vance derided “faceless bureaucrats” as “shameful” for their opposition to Orbán.

Inside the arena, the fans had a blast.

“It meant so much that he spoke for so long, and also that he spoke from his heart – it wasn’t a propaganda speech,” said Peter Kintsly, 67, an entrepreneur from Budapest, sharing a rare taxi back to downtown Budapest.

Vance spoke about Hungary’s battle against Soviet rule, including the failure and bloody revolution of 1956. He even discussed King St. Stephen, the country’s first monarch, who reigned from 997 to 1001.

“He clearly knew what he was talking about,” Kintsly said.

Vance began by calling Trump and putting the president on speakerphone. “I love this Viktor,” Trump told the crowd. “He did not allow people to storm your country and invade it like other people ruined their countries.”

From there, for 40 minutes, the vice president wove a story in which Washington and Budapest were the central players in a growing global “revolution” against liberal elites.

“I see how these same leaders mock the normal, God-fearing Hungarian people,” he said. “I see that those who hate Europe the most, who hate its borders, its energy independence, those who hate its Christian heritage, hate one man above all others, and his name is Viktor Orbán. »

Vance told the crowd he wanted to discuss “the common threat from within that our two nations face. I’m talking, of course, about a far-left ideology that is sidelined in academic circles, in the media and in our entertainment industry, and increasingly among bureaucrats on both sides of the Atlantic.”

Earlier in the day, he called Orbán “one of Europe’s only true statesmen” – a caustic aside that will be heard in London, Berlin and Paris. “The president loves you,” Vance told the Hungarian.