Trump praises Orban after Vance calls him in Hungary
U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance holds his cell phone up to the microphone during his meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump during the Friendship Day event attended by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban at MTK Sportpark on April 7, 2026 in Budapest, Hungary.
Jonathan Ernst | Getty Images
President Donald Trump on Tuesday heaped praise on Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán after Vice President J.D. Vance called his boss from the stage of a political rally at a football stadium in Budapest.
“I love Viktor, let me tell you, he’s a great guy, we had a great relationship,” Trump said as Vance held his phone’s speaker up to the microphone on stage.
Efforts by Trump and Vance, who is in Hungary for the first time as a public official, to support Orbán’s candidacy come as polls show the incumbent leader is poised to lose the upcoming election.
Orbán, a conservative nationalist whose closeness with Russian President Vladimir Putin throughout the war in Ukraine makes him unusual among European leaders, has long been a favorite of Trump.
“Remember this, he didn’t allow people to rush into your country, invade your country, and destroy their country like other people did,” Trump told the Hungarian crowd via loudspeaker. he said. “He kept your country well. He kept the Hungarian people in your country and he did a great job.”
Trump, who has restricted immigration in the US, was apparently comparing Hungary’s strict immigration rules to those of its European neighbors.
Orbán and his Fidesz party have been in power since 2010. However, the latest polls show that the pro-European opposition party Tisza, led by Peter Magyar, has an advantage ahead of the next parliamentary elections on April 12.
Vance had difficulty at first getting Trump on the phone line during the scene where he spoke after Orbán.
When he first called, he received an automated voice saying, “Sorry, the person you are trying to reach has a voicemail box that has not yet been set up.”
“Okay, try one more time,” Vance said. “Signal is good,” he added as he looked at his phone. “It’s ringing. There’s progress,” Trump said before picking up the phone.
Vance said he wasn’t there to tell Hungarians how to vote, but later told them to “go to the polls” and “stand with Viktor Orbán, because he’s defending you.”
The effort by US leaders to rally support for Orbán comes as Trump simultaneously threatens Iran with destroying its “entire civilisation” if a deal is not reached by 8pm on Tuesday.
