US Democrats cheer defeat of Trump ally Orban in Hungary
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Mr Viktor Orban was ousted after 16 years in power in Hungary's election on April 12.
PHOTO: REUTERS
WASHINGTON – US Democrats celebrated the defeat of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on April 12, while US President Donald Trump’s allies and Republican peers offered a more mixed response to the loss of the leader that Mr Trump had endorsed.
Mr Trump had backed Mr Orban leading up to the vote, even speaking briefly on April 7 at a campaign rally in Hungary, when US Vice-President J.D. Vance telephoned his boss upon taking the stage.
But Mr Orban lost power after 16 years as Hungarians voted in record numbers for a pro-EU course spearheaded by centre-right rival Peter Magyar.
US lawmakers from both major parties congratulated Mr Magyar on his victory.
Some Democrats framed Mr Orban’s loss as a harbinger of things to come for the November midterm elections in the US.
“Pay attention, Donald Trump. Wannabe dictators wear out their welcome,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said.
US House of Representatives Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said: “Far-right authoritarian Viktor Orban has lost the election. Trump sycophants and MAGA extremists in Congress are up next in November.”
Republicans such as US Senator Roger Wicker viewed the Hungarian election result as a repudiation of Russian President Vladimir Putin, with whom Mr Orban had cultivated ties over the years.
Mr Wicker, a Mississippi Republican who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the results indicated that Hungary’s population rejected “the malign influence of Vladimir Putin” and “decided their own future”.
Mr Trump himself did not mention the Hungarian elections on April 12, even as he opined on topics through social media posts, a TV interview and a brief gathering with reporters.
But a few of his pro-Orban allies, such as technology tycoon Elon Musk, lamented the result.
“Soros Organization has taken over Hungary,” Mr Musk wrote on his X social media platform.
Billionaire financier and major Democratic donor George Soros, a Hungarian immigrant to the US, has long been vilified by many conservatives.
Mr Orban has been at loggerheads with the European Union over a range of issues, including Russia’s war in Ukraine.
His self-described “illiberal democracy” has echoed policies touted by Mr Trump, including a hard line against immigration, hostility toward global institutions, and attacks on the media and universities.
Mr Orban was the first European leader to endorse the American leader during his 2016 presidential bid.
Mr Trump, on April 10, said his administration stood ready “to use the full economic might of the United States to strengthen Hungary’s economy” if Mr Orban won. REUTERS
