[ad_1]
Emin Sansart/Anadolu/Getty Images
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán will attend the ADF talks in Antalya, Turkey on March 1, 2024.
CNN
—
President Donald Trump praised Viktor Orban as he hosted the Hungarian prime minister at Mar-a-Lago on Friday night.
“There is no one better, smarter, better leader than Viktor Orbán.” He said so.
Trump added that the European dictator is “uncontroversial, because he said, ‘This is what’s going to happen,’ and that’s it, right?” He’s the boss, and…he’s a great leader, a great leader. He is respected not only in Europe but all over the world. ”
President Trump called the visit an “honor” and appeared to note that the two remained in touch even after leaving the White House in 2021, saying they “stay in touch.”
The meeting and subsequent praise underscore President Trump’s history of embracing world powers, sometimes at the expense of traditional U.S. allies.
The former president and a small group of aides met for about an hour with Orbán on Friday night, a person familiar with the matter told CNN, which one person described as a “social meeting” with no agenda. He explained. Another source called it “friendly.”
Trump met with Orbán and “discussed 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,” the campaign said in a statement. .
A fourth source told CNN that Mr. Orban had sought a meeting with President Trump and had planned to make a separate visit to the United States.
President Trump then took him to a memorial concert featuring Beatles and Rolling Stones tribute bands and the Palm Beach Symphony Orchestra as part of a “members-only” event at the club.
In one video posted on social media, Orbán is seen singing former President Melania Trump as the band plays Roy’s “Oh Pretty Woman” at a concert billed as “orchestral elegance meets rock legend.” The footage shows him presenting his wife with a large bouquet of flowers. Orbison.
A Biden administration official told CNN that the White House has not extended an invitation to the authoritarian leader to meet with President Joe Biden, and Orbán did not request a meeting at the White House during his visit this week. admitted that.
Earlier in the day, Biden suggested there were concerns about the Hungarian strongman’s meeting with Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.
Asked if he was concerned about the Mar-a-Lago meeting, Mr. Biden said, “If I’m not concerned, you should be concerned, too.” He suggested that it was natural to have concerns.
Mr. Orban’s far-right populism, fierce anti-immigration rhetoric, Christian nationalism, and hostility to LGBTQ rights have made him a popular ideological model for Mr. Trump’s “Make America Great Again” followers. He has spoken in the past at the Conservative Political Action Conference, an annual gathering of Trump supporters, and next month Hungary will be the host of another CPAC overseas conference.
The Biden administration has largely refused to comment on the meeting between Mr. Orbán and Mr. Trump, but the president made the most of his visit in a speech Friday night in Pennsylvania, a key battleground state in 2024.
“Do you know who he’s meeting with at Mar-a-Lago today? Mr. Orbán of Hungary has flatly said he doesn’t believe democracy works and wants a dictatorship,” Biden said. he told a crowd gathered for what was effectively the first rally of the 2024 general election campaign.
“That’s the person he’s meeting,” Biden added. “I see a future that protects democracy, not undermines it.”
This headline and story have been updated with additional details.
CNN’s Kevin Liptak, Betsy Klein, Michael Williams and Kaanita Iyer contributed to this report.
[ad_2]
Source link
