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Former President Donald Trump met with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán at Mar-a-Lago on Friday and was promptly reprimanded by President Joe Biden during the campaign.
In a readout of the meeting, the Trump campaign said, “We met today at Mar-a-Lago to discuss a wide range of issues affecting Hungary and the United States. “This includes the paramount importance of borders.” Each country. ” The campaign also shared photos from the meeting.
Prime Minister Orbán, who is turning his country into an “illiberal state” while resisting the expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and additional aid to Ukraine, is undermining Hungary by weakening the judiciary and suppressing independent media. It has faced criticism for trying to undermine democracy. He has also developed close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In remarks at a campaign reception in Pennsylvania, Mr. Biden harshly criticized the meeting between Mr. Trump and Mr. Orban, hammering home the message that the November election was about freedom and democracy.
“Do you know who he’s meeting with today at Mar-a-Lago? Mr. Orbán from Hungary has clearly stated that democracy is not working,” Biden said.
“I see a future that protects democracy, not undermines it,” he added.
Orbán, who has served as prime minister since 2010, posted on his Instagram account on Friday a video of himself appearing at Mar-a-Lago with President Trump and former first lady Melania Trump.
The day before, Prime Minister Orban visited the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank in Washington, for an event closed to the press.in Post to X After attending the site, he wrote: “Supporting families, fighting illegal immigration and standing up for national sovereignty. These are the common grounds for cooperation between conservative forces in Europe and the United States.”
Skeptical of sending weapons to Ukraine, fiercely anti-immigration and hostile to what he calls “woke” culture and LGBTQ rights, Mr. Orbán sees his government as a model of Christian nationalism. He is a darling of many pro-Trump Republicans.
Karen Donfried, who served as assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs in the Biden administration and is currently a senior fellow at Harvard University’s Belfer Center for International Science, said Orbán is “exactly the kind of strong leader that Trump feels close to.” He is a person like that.” The situation was told to NBC News.
He noted that it is highly unusual for a visiting head of state to visit the United States and meet with the president’s political opponents without also meeting senior White House officials.
Mr. Donfried said Mr. Orbán was keen to “strengthen already good relations” with Mr. Trump likely to win in November.
Last month, Trump posted a video on the Truth social platform in which Orbán praised him in the State of the Nation Address and detailed Trump’s desire to return to the White House. In 2022, President Trump announced his support for Orbán, months before he was re-elected to a fourth term.
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