US President Donald Trump called Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán a "true friend" and issued an unconditional endorsement for his re-election, posting the appeal on Truth Social two days before Hungary's parliamentary elections on 12 April.
"Hungary: get out and vote for Viktor Orbán," Trump wrote. “He is a true friend, fighter, and winner, and has my Complete and Total Endorsement for Re-Election as Prime Minister of Hungary — Viktor Orbán will never let the great people of Hungary down. I am with him all the way!"
Trump described Orbán as a "truly strong and influential leader" with a "proven track record of achieving phenomenal results," and credited him with working to "protect Hungary, develop the economy, create jobs, promote trade, stop illegal immigration, and ensure law and order." He added that bilateral relations had "reached new heights of cooperation and striking achievements" under his presidency, "largely thanks to Prime Minister Orbán," and said he looked forward to continued close cooperation. Trump also noted he had backed Orbán in 2022.
The endorsement came as the latest polling showed opposition party Tisza, led by Péter Magyar, leading Orbán's Fidesz by 9, 11, and 13 percentage points across different voter categories. A significant share of Hungarian voters have also expressed concern about election fraud and foreign interference, according to pre-election reporting.
Orbán, for his part, called on voters to back Fidesz and warned that his opponents "will stop at nothing to seize power."
Background: Vance visit, Lavrov recordings, and Hungary's pro-Russian posture
Trump's endorsement follows a visit to Budapest by Vice President JD Vance, who travelled to Hungary to express support for Orbán ahead of the vote.
The intervention coincides with a deepening scandal over Hungary's conduct within the EU. An investigation by the Vsquare consortium, based on recordings of phone calls between Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, found that Szijjártó used breaks in closed EU ministerial sessions to brief Lavrov on the state of internal EU deliberations and Hungary's tactical positions.
During the European Council summit of 14 December 2023 — when EU leaders were deciding whether to open accession negotiations with Ukraine — Szijjártó called Lavrov mid-session. Lavrov's response, according to the recording: "Good, good, yes, yes, excellent. Sometimes friendly direct blackmail is the best option."
On 2 July 2024 — the day Orbán visited Kyiv in what he framed as a "peace initiative" — Szijjártó called Lavrov immediately after Orbán's meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, disclosed the contents of that conversation, and discussed arrangements for Orbán's subsequent trip to Moscow. A European official told the consortium: "It is striking how Szijjártó was working to get an invitation for Orbán to Moscow… Obviously, Hungary was deceiving the EU in this case."
A senior EU diplomat assessed the situation more bluntly, saying it was not that of a handler and an agent, but simply that Szijjártó was "a useful idiot."
Earlier installments of the Vsquare investigation established that Szijjártó acted on Lavrov's request to push for removing the sister of Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov from EU sanctions lists, and coordinated with Russia's Energy Minister over the interests of dozens of Russian companies and banks targeted under the 18th EU sanctions package. Hungary and Slovakia blocked that package in June 2025.
France has called Hungary a traitor following publication of the recordings.
