Hungary: US dispatches JD Vance to aid Orban reelection bid
April 7, 2026
The Trump administration is ignoring convention and has dispatched Vice President JD Vance to Hungary, where he will campaign for that country's longtime prime minister, Viktor Orban, who trails dramatically in polls ahead of upcoming elections on April 12.
Orban, who has held or been near power since the late 1990s, has become a figurehead for the global far-right and is running for his fifth consecutive term leading the eastern European nation as prime minister — a job he has held since 2010.
At odds with the rest of the EU over his allegiance to Russian President Vladimir Putin and his opposition to supporting the defense of Ukraine, Orban has proudly proclaimed to have transformed Hungary into an "illiberal" democracy.
Despite accusations that Orban and his Fidesz party have engineered state capture by taking control of Hungary's justice system, its media and its universities — prompting the label of "free but not fair elections" — the Trump administration has looked to Orban's Hungary as a blueprint for success rather than a warning about good governance.
Hungary is consistently ranked as the most corrupt nation in the 27-member EU and is also ranked among the very poorest in the bloc.
Vance to stump for far-right Trump ally Orban
Vance will join Orban, who has never shied from repeating Donald Trump's lie that he won the 2020 US presidential election — he did not — for an official meeting on Tuesday morning followed by a press conference.
On Tuesday, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, who greeted Vance and his wife Usha when they touched down in Budapest, said "This visit clearly shows that there is a new golden age in US-Hungary relations."
Szijjarto said Vance and Orban will discuss migration, global security, economic and energy co-operation.
Vance will later appear alongside Orban at a campaign rally, as the incumbent seeks to fend off a serious challenge from center-right candidate Peter Magyr and his Tisza party.
Orban, whom rightwing leaders elsewhere see as a role model, currently trails by double-digits in opinion polls and his administration has been embarrassed by recent revelations of potential collusion with Russia as well as spying on political opponents.
Nevertheless, Trump and his Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement admire Orban's crackdowns on immigration, gay rights and press freedom, and hail his championing of "Western Christian values."
In recent days, other far-right leaders — from France's Marine Le Pen and Geert Wilders of the Netherlands to Argentina's President Javier Miliei — have all spoken out in support of Orban's reelection, even appearing in campaign videos.
US breaks tradition by participating in foreign election
The Trump administration has repeatedly rewarded Orban's truculence on Ukraine, going so far as to exempt Hungary from sanctions on Russian oil and gas.
In February, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Orban, "President Trump is deeply committed to your success, because your success is our success," as the two visited in Budapest.
Trump, who has openly embraced far-right leaders globally, has called Orban "a fantastic guy," who has his "complete and total endorsement."
Traditionally, the US has shied away from actively participating in foreign elections, making Vance's visit just days before the vote is a highly unusual step.
Though Orban welcomes US support, he has railed against fellow EU leaders commenting on the vote — decrying it as an infringement on Hungarian sovereignty and blasting what he calls election interference.
Edited by: Elizabeth Schumacher