By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Hungary’s controversial prime minister has expressed joy that Donald J. Trump will become the 47th president of the United States in part because it could help end the Russia-Ukraine war.
It’s no secret that most European Union leaders would have preferred Kamala Harris as the next president of the United States.
But Hungary’s Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, is an exception. As a massive summit of 47 heads of state and other leaders began in Budapest, he described Trump’s win as a “much-needed victory of the world’.”
Orbán does not play by the EU’s rules. He’s long been criticized for his perceived authoritarianism and democratic backsliding. He cultivates close ties with Russian president Vladimir Putin and has been a vocal critic of Western military aid to Ukraine.
Orbán believes the election of his close ally, Trump, will help Make Europe Great Again. He’s pleased that Trump opposes the war in Ukraine and could force Kyiv and Moscow to negotiate a peace deal.
He said Trump has had “a spectacular victory, perhaps the greatest comeback in Western political history” after “facing a potential prison term, confiscation of his assets and assassination attempts.”
Yet, “It’s a great encouragement to everyone who believes in will, struggle, perseverance, and hope for peace in the world,” Orbán stressed. “With Trump, there is now a great chance to defeat the pro-war forces and ensure that the pro-peace forces become a majority in the Western world by the end of the year.”
LOVE MUTUAL
The love seems mutual. Trump, eager to have an outspoken ally in the European Union, has praised Orban, who he’s met on several occasions.
Trump supports Orbán’s anti-migration and other ideological values.
The American leader even referenced Orban in a debate with his rival Kamala Harris.
“Viktor Orbán, one of the most respected men, they call him a strong man, he is a tough person and smart, the prime minister of Hungary,” recalled Trump.
“They said [to Orbán]: ‘Why is the whole world blowing up? Three years ago, it wasn’t? Why is it blowing up?’ He [Orbán] said: ‘Because you need Trump back as president. They were afraid of him. China was afraid; North Korea was afraid of him; Russia was afraid of him.”
Trump added that he doesn’t like the word ‘afraid’ “but I am just quoting Orbán.”
Yet back in Hungary, the opposition appears lukewarm to Trump’s victory.
CONCERNS REMAIN
Some opposition parliamentarians say they’re looking forward to working with him. However, the leader of Hungary’s liberal Momentum party said Trump’s economic and political goals “were contrary to Hungary’s interests.”
There are concerns among critics that the Trump presidency could rock world trade, further undermining Hungary’s already troubled economy and sharpening conflicts rather than smoothing them.
However, as long as Hungary’s rightwing prime minister remains in power, the transatlantic political bromance between these two controversial leaders looks set to continue.
Orbán said Thursday he celebrated his ally Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential election by downing vodka — rather than champagne as he had previously promised.
He explained that he was visiting the ex-Soviet country Kyrgyzstan when news broke of Trump’s massive victory over Kamala Harris.
“I was in Kyrgyzstan when Donald Trump won the elections, where you have different traditions, so we were tapping into the vodka supply happily,” Orbán said after hosting a summit of European leaders in Budapest.
“We shared our joy over this fantastic result.”
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
More Worthy News
A remote Indigenous community in western Canada was reeling Friday after a grizzly bear mauled a group of schoolchildren and teachers on a forest trail in British Columbia, injuring 11 people — two of them critically, according to local officials.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz was expected to join a high-level phone call Friday on a U.S.-Russian proposal to end the war in Ukraine, amid escalating deadly attacks in the embattled nation, according to people familiar with the discussions.
Delegates assessed the damage from a fire that briefly spread through several pavilions at the 2025 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Brazil on Thursday, the latest setback for the gathering known as COP30.
A strong 5.5-magnitude earthquake shook central Bangladesh on Friday, killing at least eight people and injuring more than 300, authorities and local media said, as buildings in the capital Dhaka swayed violently and panicked residents fled into the streets.
Authorities say a boiler at a glue-making factory in eastern Pakistan exploded on Friday, killing at least 18 people and injuring 21 others, underscoring broader concerns over safety standards in the Islamic nation.
At least scores of students were abducted from a Catholic mission school in Nigeria’s troubled North Central region early Friday, just days after gunmen attacked a church, killing two people and taking dozens of worshippers hostage, officials and witnesses said.
The Israel Defense Forces announced Thursday that it uncovered one of the most extensive and sophisticated Hamas tunnel systems discovered to date, a sprawling underground route running more than seven kilometers (4.3 miles) and plunging approximately 25 meters (82 feet) underground beneath Rafah.