Rubio plugs Orbán's bid for another term after April elections during a visit to Budapest

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BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio connected Monday enthusiastically endorsed Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán 's bid to service a 5th consecutive word aft upcoming elections successful April, emphasizing during a sojourn to Budapest the beardown idiosyncratic narration betwixt the nationalist person and U.S. President Donald Trump.

Orbán, who has led Hungary since 2010, is 1 of Trump’s astir vocal supporters successful the European Union, and has actively curried the U.S. president’s favour starring up to the April 12 ballot successful which helium volition look the toughest situation of his past 16 years successful power.

Rubio was successful the Hungarian superior for meetings with Orbán and his authorities wherever helium signed an statement connected U.S.-Hungarian civilian atomic practice that includes the imaginable acquisition of compact atomic reactors — known arsenic tiny modular reactors oregon SMRs — arsenic good arsenic U.S.-supplied atomic substance and spent substance retention technology.

At a quality league successful Budapest, Rubio said U.S.-Hungary relations — which some helium and Orbán described arsenic experiencing a “golden age” nether Trump — spell beyond specified diplomatic cooperation.

“I’m going to beryllium precise blunt with you," Rubio said. "The premier curate and the president person a very, precise adjacent idiosyncratic narration and moving relationship, and I deliberation it has been beneficial to our 2 countries.”

“That person-to-person transportation that you’ve established with the president has made each the quality successful the satellite successful gathering this relationship,” Rubio continued, addressing Orbán. “President Trump is profoundly committed to your occurrence due to the fact that your occurrence is our success.”

Rubio connected affable territory successful Central Europe

Rubio's halt successful Hungary followed a sojourn to Slovakia connected Sunday aft helium antecedently attended the Munich Security Conference successful Germany.

Led by euroskeptic populists who reason enactment for Ukraine and vocally backmost Trump, Slovakia and Hungary are some affable territory for Rubio successful his propulsion to enactment up vigor agreements with some Central European countries.

Widely considered Russian President Vladimir Putin’s astir reliable advocator successful the EU, Orbán has maintained lukewarm relations with the Kremlin contempt its warfare against Ukraine portion gathering ties with Trump and his MAGA — abbreviated for the 2016 Trump run slogan “Make America Great Again” — movement.

Orbán has remained firmly committed to purchasing Russian vigor contempt efforts by the EU to wean disconnected specified supplies, and received an exemption from U.S. sanctions connected Russian vigor aft a November gathering successful the White House with Trump.

Rubio would not specify connected Monday however agelong that exemption would past arsenic the EU plans to signifier retired Russian fossil fuels wholly by the extremity of 2027.

Apparently trusting that his governmental and idiosyncratic affinity with Trump could wage adjacent greater dividends, Orbán and his authorities person sought to woo the U.S. person to Hungary earlier the pivotal April elections — hoping specified a high-profile sojourn and endorsement would propulsion Orbán, who is trailing successful astir polls, implicit the decorativeness line.

On Monday, Orbán told Rubio that his authorities is acceptable to big immoderate aboriginal trilateral bid acme betwixt the United States, Russia and Ukraine, and that Trump has an “open invitation” to Budapest.

He besides claimed that Ukraine and its president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, were seeking to interfere successful Hungary’s upcoming elections by criticizing Orbán’s absorption to providing weapons oregon fiscal assistance to Kyiv and threats to artifact Ukraine’s eventual rank successful the EU.

Make Europe Great Again

Many successful MAGA and the broader blimpish satellite presumption Hungary arsenic a shining illustration of palmy blimpish nationalism, contempt the erosion of its antiauthoritarian institutions and its presumption arsenic 1 of the EU's poorest countries.

Orbán has riffed connected Trump's fashionable slogan and declared that helium and his question movement to “Make Europe Great Again.”

In turn, Trump has praised Orbán’s steadfast absorption to immigration, exemplified by a obstruction his authorities erected connected Hungary’s confederate borderline successful 2015 arsenic hundreds of thousands of refugees fled Syria and different countries successful the Middle East and Africa.

Other U.S. conservatives respect Orbán’s hostility to LGBTQ+ rights. His authorities past twelvemonth banned the fashionable Budapest Pride solemnisation and allowed facial designation exertion to beryllium utilized to place anyone participating contempt the ban. It has besides efficaciously banned same-sex adoption and same-sex marriage, and disallowed transgender individuals from changing their enactment successful authoritative documents.

Budapest has hosted respective yearly iterations of the Conservative Political Action Conference, oregon CPAC, and different was hastily rescheduled this twelvemonth to autumn successful March, conscionable earlier Hungary's elections.

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