President Donald Trump endorsed Hungary’s rabidly anti-LGBTQ+ Prime Minister Viktor Orbán for re-election in his country’s upcoming April 12 elections. The popularity of Orbán’s far-right Fidesz political party has been slipping amid his sputtering economy and consolidation of power.
In a Truth Social post, Trump praised Orbán as “a truly strong and powerful Leader” who, like Trump, loves and “fights tirelessly” for his country and people. “Viktor works hard to Protect Hungary, Grow the Economy, Create Jobs, Promote Trade, Stop Illegal Immigration, and Ensure LAW AND ORDER!” Trump wrote.
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Trump praised improved relations between the U.S. and Hungary and concluded, “I was proud to ENDORSE Viktor for Re-Election in 2022, and am honored to do so again. Viktor Orbán is a true friend, fighter, and WINNER, and has my Complete and Total Endorsement for Re-Election as Prime Minister of Hungary — HE WILL NEVER LET THE GREAT PEOPLE OF HUNGARY DOWN!”
Trump has long expressed admiration for Orbán. Trump hosted Orbán at the White House last November for trade talks, and the two men met last January at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Both men have embraced a nationalistic, anti-immigrant agenda and attacks on free-press and LGBTQ+ people as trademarks of their regime.
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Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s anti-LGBTQ+ stances
Under the guise of “anti-pedophilia” laws, Orbán’s administration banned schools and the media from mentioning gay people, amended the constitution to define marriage as only being between a man and a woman, effectively erased transgender people by banning them from legally changing their gender, and pulled out of the Eurovision song competition because it was a “homosexual flotilla.”
Orbán’s ruling Fidesz party has made hateful remarks about LGBTQ+ people, trolled Pride events, and boycotted business campaigns that feature same-sex couples. His cultural commissioner, Imre Kerényi, said in 2014 that theater and film are “in the hands of a lobby of fa**ots.”
In a 2015 interview, Orbán said that things would get worse for “the Hungarian homosexual community” if “the community of homosexuals starts being more provocative.”
Orbán’s anti-LGBTQ+ actions compelled the World Congress of Families, an annual anti-LGBTQ conference, to praise him as a “pro-family hero.” The Heritage Foundation also praised him as well, saying he will “replace the shipwreck of liberal democracy by building 21st Century Christian democracy.”
Despite Orbán’s so-called “Christian” politics, the Pope himself has criticized Orbán’s policies.
Additionally, the European Parliament voted to condemn Hungary’s anti-LGBTQ+ attacks, and leaders of E.U. member nations said that Hungary should no longer remain an E.U. member because of its anti-LGBTQ+ politics.
In 2022, the European Commission, the E.U.’s politically independent executive arm, brought a lawsuit against Hungary to the European Court of Justice, accusing Hungary of widespread institutional anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination. Several E.U. member states — including Belgium, France, Finland, Germany, and Spain — have joined the lawsuit.
Orbán’s anti-LGBTQ+ attacks have coincided with an erosion of democracy in his country. The pro-democracy group Freedom House downgraded Hungary from “free” to “partly free” in its annual report. The CIVICUS Monitor watchlist placed Hungary on its list of countries that have seen a rapid decline in fundamental civic freedoms – including the freedoms of association, peaceful assembly, and expression.
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