Trump joins Orban rally by phone, says he is 'with him all the way'
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U.S. President Donald Trump praised Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban during a political rally in Budapest, where Vice President JD Vance held up his phone so Trump could address the crowd live.
“I love that Viktor, I’ll tell you, he’s a fantastic man, we’ve had a tremendous relationship,” Trump said on April 7. “I’m a big fan of Viktor, I’m with him all the way, the United States is with him all the way.”
The remarks came as Vance visited Hungary for the first time as a public official to boost Orban ahead of a closely watched election in which polls suggest he could lose power. Orban has long been a key European ally of Trump.
Addressing the audience, Trump defended Orban’s controversial immigration policies.
“Remember this, he didn’t allow people to storm your country and invade your country, like other people have, and ruin their countries," Trump said. “He’s kept your country good. He’s kept Hungarian people in your country, and he’s done a fantastic job.”
The appearance underscored coordinated efforts by Trump and Vance to support Orban’s campaign.
Earlier on April 7, Vance suggested that “elements” of Ukrainian intelligence had interfered in both U.S. and Hungarian elections, claims made without providing evidence.
“I want to help as much as I possibly can to Prime Minister as he faces this election season,” Vance said alongside Orban at a press conference, where the Hungarian leader described the visit as a “historic moment.”
Vance also said the U.S. is “certainly aware that there are elements within the Ukrainian intelligence services that try to put their thumb on the scale of American elections, on Hungarian elections.”
Budapest has previously accused Kyiv of election interference — claims Ukraine has denied — while independent media and opposition figures have warned of potential Russian influence in support of Orban.
Orban, widely seen as one of the European Union’s most Kremlin-friendly leaders, has drawn criticism for his stance on Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine and his government’s increasingly hostile rhetoric toward Kyiv.
