On Tuesday, U.S. Vice President JD Vance is scheduled to meet in Budapest with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, in a show of support for the Hungarian leader just days before Sunday’s elections.
RELATED:
EU Plan to Admit Ukraine by 2030 Means War With Russia: Orban
The two politicians are expected to appear before the press around midday Tuesday and later participate together in a political rally of Orban’s ruling conservative Fidesz party.
Confirming Vance’s trip to Hungary on April 7 and 8 last week, the White House said the vice president planned to deliver a speech on the “important alliance between the United States and Hungary.”
Orban, in power since 2010, is a close ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, with whom he maintains a close relationship.
“He is a truly strong and powerful leader,” Trump wrote about Orban in a post on the platform X, while on other occasions he has expressed his support for the Hungarian leader.
Vance seeks to back the ultranationalist Hungarian leader at a crucial moment, as Orban faces the risk of losing power for the first time after 16 consecutive years of governing with absolute majorities.
Less than a week before the election, his main rival, conservative leader Peter Magyar, leads voter intention polls with a clear advantage.
“I respectfully ask the U.S. vice president to make clear in his speech that they are not asking for soldiers from Hungary and that Hungary will not play any role in the war on Iran,” opposition leader Magyar said.
According to the latest polls by the 21 Research Center, Magyar’s Tisza party has the support of 56% of voters, 19 points more than Fidesz’s 37%.
Vance’s visit to Budapest takes place about two months after that of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, during which a civil nuclear energy cooperation agreement was signed. The last time Orban and Trump met was in November 2025 at the White House.
