Former president Donald Trump He met with the Prime Minister of Hungary on Friday Viktor Orban At Mar-a-Lago, President Joe Biden drew a quick rebuke on the campaign trail.
In a readout of the meeting, the Trump campaign said they “met today at Mar-a-Lago to discuss a wide range of issues affecting Hungary and the United States, including the importance of strong and secure borders to protect the sovereignty of nations. every nation.” Photos from the meeting were also shared in the campaign.
Orban, who has resisted NATO expansion and more aid to Ukraine and tried to turn his country into an “illiberal state,” has faced criticism for efforts to undermine democracy in Hungary by weakening the judiciary and stifling independent media. He also faked it He has close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Biden sharply criticized Trump’s meeting with Orbán during a speech at a campaign party in Pennsylvania, where he delivered a message that the November election is about freedom and democracy.
“You know who she’s meeting today and—down at Mar-a-Lago? Orbán, who is from Hungary, has made it clear that he doesn’t think democracy works,” Biden said.
“I see a future where we defend democracy, not where we don’t,” he said.
Orban, who has been prime minister since 2010, posted videos on his Instagram account Friday of himself at Mar-a-Lago with Trump and former first lady Melania Trump.
A day earlier, Orbán visited the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank in Washington, for an event closed to the press. One Send to X after appearing there, he wrote: “Supporting families, fighting illegal migration and defending the sovereignty of our peoples. This is common ground for cooperation between the conservative forces of Europe and the United States.”
Skeptical of sending arms to Ukraine, staunchly anti-immigrant and hostile to what he calls “woke” culture and LGBTQ rights, Orban is a favorite of many pro-Trump Republicans who see his government as a model of Christian nationalism.
Karen Donfried, who served as assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs in the Biden administration and is now a senior fellow at Harvard University’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, said Orban is “a strong leader that Trump is close to.” Affairs, told NBC News.
He noted that it is quite unusual for the head of state visiting the USA to visit the USA without meeting high-level officials in the White House and to meet with the president’s political opponent.
With a possible Trump victory in November, Donfried said Orban is interested in “strengthening the relationship that is already good.”
Trump last month posted a clip Truth noted on his social platform that Orbán praised him during his State of the Nation address and detailed his desire for Trump to return to the White House. In 2022, Trump endorsed Orban months ago he was re-elected for a fourth term.