President Trump shrugged off concerns about Hungary’s autocratic prime minister on Tuesday, praising Viktor Orbán as “tough” and “respected.”
“He’s done the right thing, according to many people, on immigration,” Trump told reporters just before an Oval Office meeting with Orbán and the Hungarian leader sat beside him. “You look at some of the problems they have in Europe that are tremendous because they have done it a different way than [Orbán].”
It marks the latest example of how Trump has embraced leaders viewed coolly by other Western allies.
Senior Republicans and Democrats asked the president to raise concerns about what they called Hungary’s “downward democratic trajectory,” as well alleged anti-Semitic and xenophobic comments.
Orbán has built a fence along Hungary’s southern border and slashed the number of asylum-seekers permitted entry. At the same time, he is accused of forcing through single party rule and shredding the judicial system.
Yet Trump made light of the controversy as he welcomed Orbán to the White House.
“Probably like me … a little bit controversial but that’s OK. That’s OK,” he said. “You’ve done a good job and you kept your country safe.”
Before the visit, a senior administration official told reporters that the meeting was part of White House efforts to reengage with Central and Eastern Europe and strengthen the NATO alliance.
“So the point of this meeting is simply just to reinforce the strategic relationship between allies,” said the official.
