Vice President J.D. Vance visited Budapest Tuesday, just five days before Hungary’s April 12 election, to offer public support for Prime Minister Viktor Orbán during a closely contested campaign. Vance said he was in the Hungarian capital “to help him in this campaign cycle”, but noted that the U.S. will work with whoever wins.

Subscribe Today

Get daily emails in your inbox

Email Address:

The visit marked the first trip by a high-level American official to Hungary in 20 years. Orbán, who has served as Prime Minister of Hungary since 2010, faces a strong challenge from Péter Magyar and his party, Tisza, which is currently leading in many opinion polls.

After meeting Orbán, Vance sharply criticized the European Union and Ukraine, accusing them of engaging in election interference against the Hungarian leader. 

“Elements within the Ukrainian intelligence services tried to put their thumb on the scale of American elections, on Hungarian elections,” Vance said. “This is just what they do.” Orbán has consistently blocked efforts to use European resources to fund Ukraine and has made opposition to further entanglement in the Russia–Ukraine War a central theme of his campaign.