Vance visits Hungary in desperate push to help re-elect Viktor Orban

The MAGA movement and the Kremlin both have a lot riding on Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán remaining in power. And that’s why an air of desperation is permeating Vice President JD Vance’s visit to Hungary this week in an effort to bolster Orbán’s electoral chances.

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A far-right Russophile who has denounced “mixed race” nations and touted what he calls “illiberal democracy” (aka authoritarianism), Orbán is facing arguably his dimmest prospects for re-election in his 16-year reign. Authoritarian expert Anne Applebaum explained during a recent appearance on MS NOW’s “The Weekend” that the corruption and poverty Orbán has overseen in one of Europe’s poorest countries has led to rising discontent, putting his re-election in doubt.

Applebaum also noted Orbán, who’s worked to rig the political system in his favor, has centered his campaign on rhetorical attacks on Ukraine, including his recent insinuation that Ukr aine was involved in a plot to blow up a pipeline sending Russian gas to Hungary. Such attacks on Ukraine comport with a man who recently said he was “at your service” in a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to a Hungarian transcript of a call reviewed by Bloomberg News. 

That’s why, as Applebaum noted, NATO countries view Vance’s visit as, functionally, support for “Russia’s war against Ukraine and Russia’s campaign against Europe.”