Vance Visits Hungary to Campaign For Orbán Ahead of Tight Hungarian Election

Vice President JD Vance visited Budapest this week ahead of the Hungarian parliamentary elections to show support for incumbent Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

The Details: Vance arrived on Tuesday, where he and Orbán held a joint press conference and then a rally that was open to the public but required pre-registration. Notably, during the rally, President Trump called Vance to voice his support for Orbán and his governing Fidesz party.

Electoral Context: Orbán, who first served as Prime Minister from 1998 to 2002, has been in office since 2010. On Sunday, he will run against former Fidesz insider Péter Magyar and his upstart Tisza party, which rose to prominence after it won seven of Hungary's 21 seats in the 2024 European Union parliamentary election. Similar to the US, Hungary does not pick its leader based on popular vote and uses a combination of regional and national vote totals to allocate the parliament's 199 seats.

Split Polling: Since his 2010 re-election, Orbán has won decisive victories, though polls have shown Sunday's vote may be tighter than past contests. Many polls, which have been widely cited by Western and American media outlets, have shown Magyar leading by as much as 20 points over Orbán. Though the Fidesz-friendly Nézőpont, which consistently showed Orbán polling around the vote total he finished with in 2022 while others showed an opposition lead, has shown Fidesz leading by 6 points. On Thursday, Reuters (Center bias) reported that Tisza, which it described as "center-right," leads Fidesz by 13 points, though it did not name or link to the pollster. Several polls have shown the "far-right" Our Homeland and satirical Two-Tailed Dog parties could meet the 5% threshold required to enter parliament.

Geopolitical Context: President Trump and many commentators on the right have long voiced support for Orbán. Budapest, which under Orbán's leadership has been at odds with Brussels, has been an obstacle to the EU's goals in Ukraine, often voting against sending more aid to the country. Ukraine and Hungary have had strained relations since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, as Budapest maintains close ties with Moscow, from which it purchases most of its energy. In November, Trump exempted Hungary from the sanctions he placed on countries that buy Russian oil. Last month, Ukraine refused to fix a pipeline that Hungary relies on for its Russian energy, and Hungary seized $82 million of Ukrainian assets that entered its territory.

How The Media Covered It: The upcoming Hungarian election has been one of the most widely covered international stories in recent weeks, and Vance's visit was also widely covered. Outlets from the right generally highlighted the strong ties between the Trump administration and Vance, framing the relationship positively and noting President Trump's phone-in. Outlets from the left emphasized the political ties between Trump's administration and Orbán and painted Orbán's situation as dire. The Guardian (Left) wrote, "Vance's whirlwind visit may not help." MS NOW (Left) described Orbán as an "ailing MAGA ally."

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