President Donald Trump meets with Hungarian dictator Viktor Orbán

It was an unusual move for a foreign leader to visit the United States without meeting the sitting president, instead meeting with political opponents and making a stop in the nation’s capital.

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President Trump has repeatedly praised Orbán over the years, often praising him for what he sees as his leadership strengths on the campaign trail. He also invited President Orbán to the White House in 2019, an invitation that the previous two US presidents deliberately avoided.

Since coming to power in 2010, Orbán has worked to undermine Hungary’s main democratic institutions. A self-proclaimed supporter of “illiberal” Christian democracy, he has defended LGBTQ+ rights and restrictions on immigration while suppressing the country’s judiciary and press. He has also reinterpreted President Trump’s long-standing slogan, frequently saying “Make Europe Great Again” in his public remarks, drawing praise from conservative populists and conservative groups in the United States. ing.

After attending the Heritage Foundation in Washington, Orban I have written At X, he said in his remarks that he discussed “common grounds for cooperation between conservative forces in Europe and the United States.” “We will support families, fight illegal immigration, and stand up for the sovereignty of our nation,” he said.

The Hungarian leader then traveled from Washington to Palm Beach, Florida, to meet President Trump at his Mar-a-Lago mansion. Friday’s meeting displayed some of the symbolism typically associated with two sitting world leaders.

The men formally greeted each other on the grounds’ steps and posed on a red carpet lined with American and Hungarian flags.

Inside, with the parties facing each other at a long conference table, the two met to discuss “a wide range of issues affecting Hungary and the United States, including the paramount importance of strong and secure borders to protect each country’s sovereignty.” I opened it. According to the Trump campaign. There was an evening concert on the grounds, and President Trump took to the stage to praise Mr. Orbán.

“There is no better, smarter, better leader than Viktor Orban,” President Trump said Friday night. The former president clearly agrees with the Hungarian leader’s authoritarian approach, saying Orbán is “uncontroversial, because he said ‘this is how it will be’ and that’s the end of it.” He continued. right? He is the boss. No, he’s a great leader. ”

Prime Minister Orbán expressed support for President Trump on X, saying the world “needs leaders who are respected and who can bring peace.” He is one of them! Please come back and bring us peace, Mr. President! ”

How authoritarian has President Trump become?

President Biden slammed Friday’s Trump-Orban meeting, saying it showed his chief rival’s authoritarian tendencies.

“You know [who Trump is] Do you have a meeting at Mar-a-Lago today? Mr. Orbán of Hungary During a campaign stop in Pennsylvania, Mr. Biden frankly stated that he did not believe democracy could work. “He wants a dictatorship…that’s who he is meeting with. I see a future where we protect democracy, not undermine it.”

The president’s remarks came a day after he welcomed Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson in his State of the Union address to commemorate Sweden’s entry into the NATO alliance. Prime Minister Viktor Orban initially resisted Sweden’s bid to join the alliance and European Union support for Ukraine, which is at war with Russia. Despite ongoing tensions between Russia and the West as a result of the war, he has maintained close ties with the Kremlin and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Marianne LeVine contributed to this report.