Hungary Prime Minister Viktor Orbán offered a message of public support to Donald Trump on Monday, April 3rd, one day before the former U.S. president—who faces a historic criminal indictment over alleged ‘hush money’ payments during his 2016 campaign—was set to be arraigned in a New York courtroom.
Orbán, who for years has been one of Trump’s closest ideological allies on the international stage, urged the embattled former U.S. president to “keep on fighting” in a Twitter post that featured a photograph of the two heads of state smiling and shaking hands during a meeting at Trump’s Bedminster, New Jersey estate last August.
“Keep on fighting, Mr. President! We are with you,” Orban wrote.
The photograph was taken ahead of the 2022 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Dallas, Texas, where Prime Minister Orbán delivered a speech.
Trump, the first former U.S. president to face criminal charges, was due to appear at the New York County Supreme Court on Tuesday, April 4th for his arraignment hearing. He has denied any wrongdoing and insists the district attorney’s case is politically motivated.
Orbán has been a vocal supporter of the former U.S. president for years. During the run-up to the 2016 presidential election, the Hungarian prime minister was the first European leader to publicly endorse Trump’s presidential candidacy. Orbán enthusiastically backed Trump’s 2020 campaign as well.
Later the same year, as Orbán sought his fourth consecutive term as prime minister, the support he had extended to the U.S. president was reciprocated, with Trump praising him as a “strong leader” who “truly loves his country.” Trump also lauded Orbán’s efforts to stop illegal migration into Europe.
“He has my complete support and endorsement for re-election as Prime Minister!” Trump wrote in a statement in January 2022.
Orbán’s public support for Trump ahead of his historic court appearance sparked a reaction from the Biden-appointed U.S. ambassador to Hungary, David Pressman, who during his tenure has repeatedly claimed that the Hungarian government pursues pro-Kremlin policies.
In a tweet, Pressman quoted a recent statement from Foreign Affairs Minister Péter Szijjártó, where he stated that the Hungarian shows its respect to other countries not interfering in their internal politics.
In February, Szijjártó responded to Pressman’s criticism of Hungary’s position on the war in Ukraine in a press conference, saying: “We are not hosting governors and deputies who I assume are sent here to tell us how to live in our own countries. That era is over.”
