Autocratic Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is the subject of a rescue mission from Vice President JD Vance, who traveled to the European nation to campaign on his behalf.
During a rally on Tuesday, Vance encouraged attendees to vote for Orbán in the upcoming election.
“Will you stand against the bureaucrats in Brussels? Will you stand for sovereignty and democracy? Will you stand for Western civilization? Will you stand for freedom, for truth, and for the God of our fathers?” Vance asked. “Then, my friends, go to the polls on the weekend and stand for Viktor Orbán because he stands for you and he stands for all these things.”
Invoking the phrase “Western civilization,” particularly while discussing immigration, has long been a dog whistle used by white supremacists in both the United States and Europe.
The Trump administration’s cozy alliance with Orbán—who has been endorsed by President Donald Trump—stands in direct contrast to the Biden administration. In 2024, when Orbán visited Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate, former President Joe Biden criticized the Hungarian leader for “looking for a dictatorship.”
Orbán and Trump have been close for years. Orbán endorsed Trump in the 2016 election, and now Trump is returning the favor. The two are also ideologically aligned, both preferring autocracies over democracies.
In Hungary, Orbán has gutted independent media, creating a propaganda machine to spin his leadership while attacking and minimizing the political opposition.
Similarly, Trump has allies at outlets like Fox News—who serve a similar purpose—along with outlets like CBS News, now led by Trump pal David Ellison. Even the mainstream media is complicit in portraying a false image of Trump.
Orbán and his allies have been criticized for a litany of human rights abuses by international observers. According to Human Rights Watch’s 2026 report, the Orbán regime has cracked down on the rule of law while subverting public institutions to the will of the ruling party.
Independent reporters have been jailed; crackdowns have been ordered against international observers; the LGBTQ+ community has been suppressed; and discrimination against immigrants, women, and the Roma people is running rampant.
Orbán’s playbook reflects Trump’s own actions in the United States, where he’s made transgender people into second-class citizens and opposed women’s rights. He also regularly engages in racist rhetoric and demagoguery of nonwhite people, particularly Black people.
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The American conservative movement has embraced Orbán, championing his suppression of dissent while backing his state-based hate campaigns rooted in racism, sexism, and misogyny. In fact, Orbán was a featured speaker at the 2022 Conservative Political Action Conference alongside other notable leaders, including Trump.
Orbán, who has slammed Ukraine during his campaign, also has the backing of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump, who benefitted from Russian involvement in the 2016 presidential election, has made similar comments about Ukraine.
Recent opinion polling shows a shift away from Orbán in Hungary, where he’s been in control since 2010. His long reign may soon end—unless the Hungarian public follows Vance’s directives.
Oliver Willis April 7, 2026 at 11:00PM From Daily Kos
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