Trump Plans to Meet With Hungary’s Orban at Mar-a-Lago Next Week

(Bloomberg) -- Donald Trump plans to host Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida next week, a move that’s likely to fuel anxiety among US allies about the prospect of the former president returning to power.

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The meeting is expected to take place March 8, according to a person familiar with the plans who spoke on condition of anonymity. Orban, like Trump, has espoused populist policies and holds a prominent position as a leader of the far-right resurgence in Europe.

The Hungarian Embassy in Washington, the Trump campaign and the US State Department didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment on Wednesday evening. The New York Times reported the meeting earlier.

Orban and his Fidesz party have gradually entrenched their power by asserting control over much of Hungary’s institutions, including the courts and the media. He continues to win election after election against a weakened opposition and has been accused by domestic and foreign critics of presiding over an authoritarian regime.

With Europe allied with Ukraine in its struggle against Russia’s invasion, Orban has maintained cordial relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Hungarian leader has long been revered by the American right over his strident opposition to immigration and rights for LGBTQ+ people as well as his attacks on liberals and news organizations. In 2022, he received an enthusiastic welcome when he delivered a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Texas.

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“The mother is a woman, the father is a man, and leave our kids alone. Full stop, end of discussion,” Orban said, rejecting sexual orientation programs in schools without parental consent.

Yet his Central European country of less than 10 million people remains a relatively small player within the European Union and NATO, and he has reversed his position on several high-profile issues, most recently ending his opposition to Sweden’s membership in the military alliance. On Feb. 1, he dropped his opposition to an EU aid for Ukraine package he had vetoed less than two months before. Orban has also changed course on a pledge to block opening the path to Ukraine’s EU membership.

The Mar-a-Lago meeting highlights how Trump is increasingly exerting his influence on foreign policy matters from the campaign trail as he closes in on the Republican presidential nomination and a likely general-election rematch against President Joe Biden.

Last week, Trump’s aides promoted his meeting with Argentine President Javier Milei, a recently elected populist, who spoke at CPAC’s gathering in Maryland.

The former president has threatened to let NATO allies fend for themselves if they fail to meet defense spending commitments, and pushed Republican lawmakers to kill a bipartisan border security and immigration deal that would also have unlocked billions in US aid for Ukraine.

Those actions have spurred fresh worries in the capitals of US allies already unsure of Washington’s commitment to global security with aid for Ukraine deadlocked in Congress.

--With assistance from Courtney McBride.

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