Former President Donald Trump met with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and received his endorsement, sparking outrage from President Biden.
Orbán traveled to Florida to visit Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Friday.
The duo discussed “a wide range of issues affecting Hungary and the United States, including the paramount importance of strong and secure borders to protect the sovereignty of each nation,” according to the Trump campaign.
HUNGARY’S ORBAN TO MEET WITH TRUMP, NOT BIDEN, ON VISIT TO US COURTING FOREIGN POLICY
Then-President Donald Trump, left, shakes hands with Viktor Orban, Hungary’s prime minister, at the West Wing of the White House in Washington, D.C. (Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“There’s nobody that’s better, smarter or a better leader than Viktor Orban. He’s fantastic,” Trump said. “He’s a noncontroversial figure because he said ‘This is the way it’s gonna be,’ and that’s the end of it. He’s the boss.”
The Hungarian leader endorsed Trump following the meeting, claiming the former president is one of the few world leaders who can bring peace.
“It was a pleasure to visit President [Donald Trump] today. We need leaders in the world who are respected and can bring peace,” Orbán said on social media. “He is one of them! Come back and bring us peace, Mr. President!”
HUNGARY PM RIPS WESTERN EUROPEAN IMMIGRATION POLICIES, SAYS HE DOESN’T WANT ‘MINI GAZAS IN BUDAPEST’
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban speaks at an economic forum of Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Budapest, Hungary, on March 4, 2024. Orban said on Monday that the connection between the West and the East is necessary despite their differences. (Attila Volgyi/Xinhua via Getty Images)
Orbán, who has been in office since 2010, has promoted what he calls “illiberal democracy” and has been criticized by international human rights observers, including the U.S. State Department.
He has received intense scrutiny for leading an increasingly autocratic system in Hungary, including allegations that he has rolled back minority rights, seized control of the judiciary and media and manipulated the country’s election system to remain in power, according to The Associated Press.
Biden decried the meeting during a campaign stop in Pennsylvania — characterizing the pair as enemies to democracy.
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U.S. President Joe Biden, accompanied with U.S. First Lady Jill Biden attends a campaign event, at Strath Haven Middle School in Wallingford, Pennsylvania, United States. (Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“You know who he’s meeting with today down in Mar-a-Lago? Orbán of Hungary, who’s stated flatly that he doesn’t thinks democracy works, he’s looking for dictatorship,” Biden claimed.
He added, “I see a future where we defend democracy, not diminish it.”
Fox News Digital’s Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.
