By Humeyra Pamuk
WASHINGTON, April 7 (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President JD Vance will travel to Hungary on Tuesday on a mission to boost the electoral campaign of the country's nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who faces the toughest re-election bid of his political career.
During the two-day visit, coming just days before the April 12 parliamentary elections, Vance will meet with Orban and attend a campaign rally with him, according to Hungarian government sources.
"I'm looking forward to seeing
my good friend Viktor, and we'll talk about any number of things related to the US-Hungary relationship," Vance told reporters before departing Washington, adding relations with Europe and Ukraine will be discussed.
The rare in-person gesture of support for Orban by a senior U.S. official is the latest example of President Donald Trump's efforts to prop up like-minded right-wing leaders, including in Argentina and Japan.
Opinion polls show Orban, who Trump has already publicly endorsed and praised as "a truly strong and powerful leader," and his Fidesz party face the most challenging election since returning to power in 2010. In most independent surveys, they trail the center-right Tisza party, led by Peter Magyar.
Orban’s self-described “illiberal democracy” mirrors key themes of Trump-era America: harsh anti-immigration policies, disdain for liberal norms, hostility toward global institutions, and attacks on the media, universities and nonprofit groups. He was the first European leader to endorse Trump during his 2016 presidential bid.
"JD Vance's visit is not routine diplomacy but a clear endorsement of Viktor Orban ahead of the toughest election of his life," said Asli Aydintasbas, visiting fellow at The Brookings Institution think tank.
"For the Trump administration, Orban is not just a fellow conservative but a central figure in efforts to establish an illiberal bloc inside Europe. If Orban falls, the movement would suffer," Aydintasbas said.
Orban has long been at loggerheads with the European Union over a range of issues, including Ukraine. He has maintained cordial ties with Moscow, refuses to send weapons to Ukraine, and says Kyiv can never join the EU.
On a trip to Hungary in February, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the Trump administration was focused on Orban's success, making clear that the continuation of robust bilateral ties with Budapest was contingent on Orban's re-election. He even suggested the U.S. could provide financial assistance, though he did not elaborate.
FAR RIGHT SOURING ON TRUMP
Trump's "America First" agenda increasingly looks like "America Alone" to allies and adversaries alike, as military campaigns and a deepening rift with Europe mark the first 15 months of his second term.
Now, Europe's far-right and populist movements are souring on the Republican president despite shared positions on immigration and climate change. Some of their leaders have pushed back against his attempts to acquire Greenland from Denmark and his erratic tariff policy.
Political analysts say U.S. support for Orban, including Vance's trip, may not be enough to sway voters, as domestic issues such as the cost of living dominate the election.
"One wonders whether Vance's visit will boost or set back Orban's chances," said Stephen Wertheim, historian and senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
"Orban positions himself as a bastion of geopolitical stability. Back in Washington, however, Vance's administration is waging a war on Iran that has predictably destabilized the Middle East and damaged European economies. More and more, 'America First' isn't playing well with European nationalism."
The trip briefly takes Vance out of Washington, where Trump and his top aides are grappling with how to wrap up the war on Iran, now in its sixth week with no clear off-ramp in sight. The conflict has driven up gas prices, dragged down Trump's approval ratings and intensified Republican anxiety about November's midterm elections.
Vance, an isolationist who has advocated against Washington's entanglements in foreign wars, has played a role in the indirect communications with Iran to end the war. He was among a handful of Trump aides who initially expressed caution about the conflict.
(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk; Editing by Don Durfee and Nia Williams)
