Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has voiced his support for Donald Trump while questioning President Biden’s fitness for a second term, a stance that has unsettled leaders across Europe.
“We continued the peace mission in Mar-a-Lago,” Orban posted on his official X account. “President @realDonaldTrump proved during his presidency that he is a man of peace. He will do it again!”
In a separate post, Orban wrote, “It was an honour to visit President @realDonaldTrump at Mar-a-Lago today,” labeling the visit “Peace mission 5.0.” He added, “We discussed ways to make peace. The good news of the day: he’s going to solve it!”
Orban made an unexpected departure from the NATO summit in Washington, D.C., on Thursday to visit Trump in Florida. This visit is part of a series of trips since Hungary took over the rotating presidency of the European Union last week. Despite the role being largely ceremonial, Orban has traveled to Russia, Ukraine, and China in the past 10 days, framing these trips as part of a peace mission. However, European leaders have emphasized that Orban does not represent the EU’s stance. European Council President Charles Michel stated that “the rotating presidency doesn’t represent the EU at the external level.”
Michel told EuroNews, “This visit, paid by the prime minister of Hungary, was not a visit on behalf of the EU.”
Orban also stirred controversy at the NATO summit when he reportedly told other leaders at a formal dinner on Wednesday that believing Biden could win the upcoming presidential election was like “people on the Titanic playing violins as the ship went down,” according to The Financial Times.
Ahead of a press conference on Thursday night, President Biden mistakenly referred to the president of Ukraine as “President Putin” instead of Zelenskyy and mentioned the good work by “Vice President Trump.” During the press conference, Biden insisted, “If I slow down and can’t get the job done, that’s a sign I shouldn’t be doing it. But there’s no indication of that yet.”
Despite Orban’s remarks, other leaders dismissed the pessimism about Biden, arguing that the president was “fully present” during the summit, with many rallying to support him and bolster his image.