April 8, 2026

JD Vance Visited Orban and Quarrelled With the EU Again. US Vice President Accused Brussels of Interfering in Key Elections for the Hungarian President

US Vice President JD Vance (center) speaks at a Hungarian-American Friendship Day rally in Budapest, Hungary, April 7, 2026. Photo: Robert Hegedus / EPA. US Vice President JD Vance met with Viktor Orban in Budapest and publicly supported him ahead of the upcoming parliamentary elections, where his Fidesz party is expected to lose based on declining ratings. "The President [Donald Trump] loves you, and I do too, because you play such an important role in what has made Europe strong and prosperous," Vance told Orban as they sat together in front of cameras on April 7, The Washington Post (WP) reports. The US Vice President called Orban "one of the few true statesmen in Europe" and said he wanted to "come and wish you good luck" before Sunday's elections. During his visit, Vance also stated that the European Union allegedly interfered in the Hungarian elections. "What happened in the middle of this election campaign is one of the worst examples of foreign interference in elections that I have ever seen or even read about. Bureaucrats in Brussels tried to destroy Hungary's economy. They tried to reduce Hungary's energy independence. They tried to raise prices for Hungarian consumers, and they did all this because they hate this guy (Orban)," he said during a press conference. Vance joined Orban at a campaign rally and from there called US President Donald Trump. The Vice President held his mobile phone to the microphone as Trump endorsed Orban, calling him a "fantastic worker." "We want you to make a decision about your future without any external pressure," Vance told the audience. Vance called Orban and Trump the leaders who have done the most to end the war in Ukraine. "And they did it through diplomacy, through talking to people, through trying to understand what Ukrainians and Russians need to end the war," the US Vice President said at a press conference in Budapest. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban welcomes US Vice President JD Vance at his residence in Budapest, Hungary, April 7, 2026. Photo: Akos Kaiser / EPA. Vance's visit, intended to help Orban, may hinder him. As Reuters notes, this visit violated the norms of previous US administrations, which prohibited openly supporting an election campaign abroad, especially for a government with close ties to the Kremlin. It is unclear whether Vance's public support will strengthen Orban's candidacy, the agency writes. The White House views Orban as a key ideological ally in Europe, Politico clarifies. Trump has repeatedly expressed support for the Hungarian Prime Minister during the election campaign. However, according to sociologists interviewed by Politico, "the US Vice President's trip is unlikely to turn the tide of an increasingly fierce election race in which Orban is significantly behind." According to Mario Bicskey, an analyst at risk analysis firm Verisk Maplecroft, attitudes towards the current US administration among Hungarians are becoming increasingly negative. "Vance's visit may have the opposite effect on Orban's popularity than intended," he believes. Kurt Mills, executive director of The American Conservative magazine and an acquaintance of Vance, commenting on the Vice President's decision to go to Hungary for WP, said: "Obviously, Orban believes it won't hurt, and obviously Vance also considers it important, otherwise he wouldn't have gotten on a plane to fly there in the midst of the war [in Iran]." Participants in a rally on the occasion of Hungarian-American Friendship Day in Budapest, Hungary, April 7, 2026. Photo: Robert Hegedus / EPA. Orban's opponent asks the US not to interfere in the elections. Orban's main opponent, Hungarian opposition leader Peter Magyar, urged Vance not to interfere in the elections. "No foreign state can interfere in Hungarian elections. This is our country. Hungarian history is not written in Washington, Moscow, or Brussels, but on the streets and squares of Hungary," he wrote on X. Magyar also told his supporters that he strongly urged "international political actors—from Ukraine to Serbia, from Russia to the United States—not to try to interfere in Hungarian elections." "Dear Mr. Vice President of the United States, I respectfully ask: if you are already campaigning in support of Viktor Orban, let Hungarians not pay for it with their money," the politician stated. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban (right) and US Vice President JD Vance hold a joint press conference at the Prime Minister's office in Budapest, Hungary, April 7, 2026. Photo: Akos Kaiser / EPA. Representatives of the European Commission, as The Guardian writes, initially did not want to respond to Vance's statement. However, after journalists' inquiries, EU Foreign Affairs spokesperson Anitta Hipper stated: "We also have our diplomatic channels, and we will use them to convey our concerns to our American colleagues." She did not specify what concerns she was referring to. European Commission spokesperson for technological affairs Thomas Regnier, as the publication notes, "somewhat mockingly" stated that "European bureaucrats strive to create a solid basis for elections to remain in the hands of our citizens." Deputy Chief Spokesperson Arianna Podesta added: "We have appropriate channels, appropriate mechanisms, diplomatic contacts [and the opportunity to make] a joint statement. These are the mechanisms through which we discuss important issues with our partners. And it is in this context that we will negotiate with the United States if they deem it appropriate for further cooperation with us." Germany reprimanded Vance for hypocrisy after his statement. Deputy Government Spokesperson Sebastian Hille noted that "Vance complains about alleged EU interference in elections, while he himself was in Hungary just a few days before the elections." "This fact alone speaks for itself about who is interfering," he added. US Vice President JD Vance addresses participants of a rally on the occasion of Hungarian-American Friendship Day in Budapest, Hungary, April 7, 2026. Photo: Robert Hegedus / EPA. Vance called Zelensky's words towards Orban "unacceptable." During his trip to Hungary, Vance also stated that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made "unacceptable" statements towards Orban and reiterated Budapest's accusations that Kyiv deliberately stopped oil supplies from Russia via the Druzhba pipeline to influence election results. In response, Hungary blocked an EU loan to Ukraine worth 90 billion euros. Zelensky said he could pass Prime Minister Orban's address to the Ukrainian military for "communication" if he continued to block the EU tranche. "This is absolutely outrageous," Vance said. "There is no way a head of a foreign government should be allowed to threaten the head of government of an allied country." A year ago, in February 2025, during the Munich Security Conference, JD Vance criticized Europe. Diplomat Christoph Heusgen, who had just finished his term as conference chairman, called what happened in Munich "in a sense, a European horror."