Former President Donald Trump recently gave his endorsement to far-right strongman Viktor Orban. This endorsement comes as Orban is looking to gain a fourth term in office as Prime Minister of Hungary.
The former president issued a statement voicing support for Orban as well as issuing his endorsement of the far-right authoritarian leader. Trump cited Orban’s record on immigration, jobs, and trade as reasons for endorsing him.
“Viktor Orban of Hungary truly loves his country and wants safety for his people. He has done a powerful and wonderful job in protecting Hungary, stopping illegal immigration, creating jobs, trade, and should be allowed to continue to do so in the upcoming Election. He is a strong leader and respected by all. He has my Complete support and endorsement for reelection as Prime Minister,” said Trump.
Orban has not only received praise from Trump but also from Fox News personality Tucker Carlson. However, Trump’s and Carlson’s support for Orban was criticized by columnist, author, and former speechwriter for Nancy Reagan, Mona Charen. In a piece for The Bulwark back in August 2021, Charon said that Carlson was not any better than the American leftists in the 1960s and 1970s who praised Cuban dictator Fidel Castro.
To note, Orban is similar to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, where their far-right authoritarianism is under the pretense of being democratic but is actually oppressive. Trump’s base of supporters appears to be looking to model the authoritarian movements in the three countries in the US in their attempts to install Trump loyalists as election officials following the 2020 elections.
In other related news, this week marks one year since the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol, and the twice-impeached former president was set to hold a press conference on the day itself. However, a few days ahead of the supposed event, the former president canceled the press conference.
According to CNN reporter Jamie Gangel, the cancellation of the press conference might have been because Trump received word that Fox News host Sean Hannity was “talking behind his back” in the days before and after the insurrection.
This revelation was from the House Select Committee in a letter requesting that Hannity testifies before the panel, including the damning text message Hannity sent to Trump’s chief of staff Mark Meadows, that showed the Fox News host failing to take control of Trump during the insurrection and urging Trump to accept his defeat to Joe Biden.