Orban to meet Trump in Florida next week, NYT
Donald Trump and Viktor Orban (Photo: Getty Images)
Former US President Donald Trump will privately meet with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Florida next week, reports The New York Times.
Orban is a long-standing ally of Trump and has close ties to the populist conservative movement in the United States. Trump has often praised Orban at rallies and speeches since leaving the White House.
"Their meeting, which is scheduled to take place at Mr. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach next Friday, underscores the degree to which Mr. Trump has tried to establish himself as a sort of president-in-exile," the news agency writes.
This comes as Trump approaches announcing his candidacy for president from the Republican Party and prepares for a general election campaign against President Joe Biden, who had cool relations with the Hungarian prime minister.
The White House National Security Council said it was unaware of any plans for Orban to visit Biden during his trip.
Trump and Orban's ties
Orban has had differences with the leaders of other NATO and European Union countries over the war in Ukraine, and he has been criticized for leading Hungary toward authoritarianism.
Like Trump, he has sometimes shown sympathy or admiration for dictator Vladimir Putin.
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Conference meetings were held in Hungary, which continued the Trump MAGA movement, and two years ago, Orban attended a group meeting in Texas.
According to a source familiar with the plans, Orban wanted to hold the upcoming meeting. They first established relations when Trump was president, and Trump supported Orban for a fourth term in 2022.
What Orban previously said about Trump
In his speech this month, Orban effectively supported Trump, calling the elections in the United States part of a global referendum on which government democratic countries should choose.
"The year of 2024 could be a watershed: a 'super election' year, when people in Brussels, America, India and a dozen other places will decide what leadership they want in the current of global economic transformation and its crashing ice floes," Orban said.
He also added that Hungary couldn't interfere in the elections in other countries, but they would very much like former President Donald Trump to return to the White House and establish peace in Eastern Europe.
What Trump said about Orban
Their last meeting took place in 2022 at Trump's Bedminster golf club in New Jersey.
"Great spending time with my friend, Viktor Orbán, the Prime Minister of Hungary. We discussed many interesting topics — few people know as much about what is going on in the world today. We were also celebrating his great electoral victory in April," Trump wrote on social media.
Trump has also called Orban a great leader and a strong man.
Trump and Orban's attitude towards the war in Ukraine
It is worth noting that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban openly holds an anti-Ukrainian position. He often makes statements to discredit Ukraine.
In November, Orban claimed that Ukraine would not be able to defeat Russia on the battlefield.
Recently, Donald Trump once again emphasized the importance of ending the war in Ukraine and promised to do so if he wins future presidential elections.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stated that if former U.S. President Donald Trump wins future elections, there will definitely be a different policy towards Ukraine. At the same time, the president is convinced of further support from the United States in the event of Trump's victory.
