JD Vance Backs Orbán Re-Election Bid In Budapest, Attacks EU Interference

US Vice-President JD Vance endorses Viktor Orbán in Hungary election, criticising EU and raising concerns over foreign interference claims.

US Vice-President JD Vance has intervened in Hungary’s election campaign, backing Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and launching a fresh attack on the European Union.

Standing beside Orbán in Budapest, Vance said he was in the Hungarian capital “to help him in this campaign cycle” although he conceded the US would “work with whoever wins this election”.

Orbán’s main rival, Péter Magyar, is ahead in most opinion polls, posing the strongest challenge to the veteran leader in nearly four decades of political life.

Vance and his wife Usha arrived in Budapest ahead of the 12 April vote in what is the first top-level US visit to Hungary in 20 years. They were received by Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó, who said Orbán’s relationship with Donald Trump had ushered in a “new golden age” in bilateral ties.

Magyar welcomed the visit, saying his Tisza party would also prioritise relations with the US if elected, both as a Nato ally and economic partner.

Following talks with Orbán, Vance sharply criticised the EU and Ukraine, accusing Brussels of interference.

He said it was “one of the worst examples of foreign election interference that I have ever seen or ever even read about… because they hate this guy”.

Vance added that “part of the reason” for his visit was because “interference that’s come from the bureaucracy in Brussels has been truly disgraceful”.

At a campaign rally, he told supporters: “We want you to make a decision about your future with no outside forces pressuring you or telling you what to do. I’m not telling you exactly who to vote for but what I am telling you is that the bureaucrats in Brussels, those people should not be listened to.”

He concluded by urging voters to “go to the polls in the weekend, stand with Viktor Orbán, because he stands for you”.

EU leaders have expressed frustration over Orbán’s continued veto on funding for Ukraine, with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz describing it as “a gross act of disloyalty”.

Vance also repeated claims, without evidence, that Ukrainian intelligence had attempted to influence elections abroad, alleging “elements within the Ukrainian intelligence services [had] tried to put their thumb on the scale of American elections, on Hungarian elections. This is just what they do”.

Orbán has made opposition to Ukraine and its president, Volodymyr Zelensky, central to his campaign.

Tensions escalated after reports of explosives found near the TurkStream gas pipeline close to Hungary’s border. Ukraine denied involvement, describing it as a “Russian false-flag operation”.

Opposition figures, including Magyar, have accused Orbán of staging the incident with Serbian President Alexander Vucic to boost electoral support.

Orbán’s alliance with Trump dates back to 2016, when he became the only EU leader to back him in the US election. The Hungarian leader also supported Trump’s 2024 re-election bid and secured exemptions for Hungary from US sanctions on Russian energy firms.

Trump later praised Orbán during a campaign rally, calling him “a fantastic man” and highlighting their “tremendous relationship”.

Hungary remains heavily reliant on Russian oil and gas, resisting EU calls to diversify energy sources. However, supply disruptions have forced Budapest to tap reserves and import alternative fuel through Croatia.

Recent controversies have also weighed on Orbán’s campaign. Leaked calls suggest Szijjártó shared sensitive EU discussions with Russian officials and lobbied on Moscow’s behalf claims he dismissed as “normal diplomacy”.

The European Parliament has labelled Hungary a “hybrid regime of electoral autocracy”, while Transparency International ranks it as the EU’s most corrupt country.

Billions of euros in EU funding remain withheld over concerns about rule of law and governance standards.