By Jonathan Landay and Humeyra Pamuk
WASHINGTON, March 18 (Reuters) – U.S. Vice President JD Vance is planning to visit Hungary in the coming days in a show of support for the country’s long-time nationalist prime minister Viktor Orban, who is facing a difficult election next month, two sources familiar with the planning said on Wednesday.
The trip would come after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio traveled to Budapest in February to publicly back Orban ahead of his toughest re‑election fight since taking power in 2010. Opinion polls show him trailing in the final month before the April 12 vote.
The exact timing of Vance’s visit was not immediately clear and his plans could change, sources cautioned, as top officials may opt to remain in Washington while the U.S.-Israeli air war on Iran rages on. President Donald Trump said he is delaying his trip to China because of the war.
The White House declined to comment.
Orban, one of Trump’s closest allies in Europe, has long been at loggerheads with the EU over a range of issues, including Ukraine. Defying Brussels, he has maintained cordial ties with Moscow, refuses to send weapons to Ukraine, and says Kyiv can never join the EU.
In a letter to Rubio on Thursday, democratic Senator Ruben Gallego said he was concerned about Hungary’s “downward Democratic trajectory,” Orban’s close ties to Moscow and the top U.S. diplomat’s recent visit to “overtly” campaign for the Hungarian leader.
He noted that as a Republican senator, Rubio signed a 2019 bipartisan letter expressing worries about Hungary’s democratic course. Gallego asked Rubio to write back on how his February appearance with Orban helped ensure a competitive election and advance U.S. strategic interests.
Trump endorsed Orban last month, calling him “a truly strong and powerful Leader” in a social media post and many on the American hard-right consider him a model for Trump’s tough immigration policies and support for Christian conservatism.
Trump has thrown his weight behind conservative leaders worldwide, most recently by supporting Argentina’s Javier Milei and Japan’s Sanae Takaichi.
As vice president, Vance is deeply involved in foreign policy affairs and is seen as a likely presidential candidate in the 2028 election.
Rubio during his trip to Hungary said Orban’s leadership was crucial to U.S. interests but suggested that continued close ties were contingent on Orban being re-elected. He also indicated Washington would be willing to help Budapest financially, if needed.
With campaigning entering its final month, opinion polls show Orban’s Fidesz party trailing the opposition Tisza party, led by former government insider Peter Magyar, though many voters remain undecided.
The election, which comes as Hungary grapples with weak growth and continued fallout from an inflation surge after Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, will have major implications for Europe amid the rise of conservative and far-right political movements.
(Reporting by Jonathan Landay and Humeyra Pamuk; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Franklin Paul)
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