Hungary’s Viktor Orbán to visit former president Donald Trump at Florida home next week

NEW YORK — Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán will visit former President Donald Trump at his Florida home, Mar-a-Lago, next week, according to a person briefed on the plans.

The meeting comes as Trump tries to focus his attention on his looming election rematch with President Joe Biden. Trump’s political position within his own party appears stronger than ever, as he easily won the early presidential Republican primaries and increased his influence over Republican members of Congress and the leadership of his political party.

The person briefed on the plans was not authorized to make them public and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Orbán and Trump have been allies for a long time and Trump regularly praises the right-wing populist in his campaign speeches. The two met in August 2022 at Trump’s golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, when Orbán traveled to the United States to speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Texas.

In April 2023, as charges were filed in the first of Trump’s four criminal cases, Orbán posted a message of support for Trump urging him to “keep fighting.”

Trump said in early 2022 that he gave his “full support and approval” to Orbán’s re-election campaign that year.

Orban, who has been in power since 2010, has promoted what he calls “illiberal democracy” and has been criticized by international observers, including the US State Department, for leading an increasingly autocratic system in Hungary, including accusations that he is of minorities, seized control of the judiciary and the media and manipulated the country’s electoral system to stay in power.

The visit was first reported by The New York Times on Wednesday evening.