Rubio Praises Orbán Autocrat He Warned Against
Secretary of State Marco Rubio praised Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán during a Budapest visit on February 16, 2026, declaring that U.S. national interests depend on Orbán remaining in power and that President Trump is “deeply committed” to Orbán’s success. Rubio stated, “We want this country to do well. It’s in our national interest — especially as long as you’re the prime minister and the leader of this country,” effectively campaigning for Orbán ahead of his difficult reelection fight against opposition leader Péter Magyar.
This reversal contradicts Rubio’s May 2019 letter to Trump, co-signed with Senators Bob Menendez, Jeanne Shaheen, and James Risch, warning that “democracy in Hungary has significantly eroded” under Orbán’s rule, with the judiciary increasingly controlled by the state and press freedom declining as independent outlets faced advertising boycotts and ownership consolidation. The senators expressed “profound concern” about Orbán’s close relationship with Russia and urged Trump to address Hungary’s “downward democratic trajectory” during their meeting.
Trump’s public endorsement of Orbán as “a truly strong and powerful Leader” who “fights tirelessly for…his Great Country” mirrors the administration’s pattern of aligning with authoritarian figures. Trump previously sat alongside Orbán while boasting about policy successes, normalizing the relationship between Washington and Budapest despite Hungary’s systematic dismantling of democratic institutions.
Orbán currently opposes Ukraine’s EU membership, rejects military aid requests, and frames his opponents as wanting to “drag Hungary into the war”—positions that align Trump’s foreign policy toward weakening NATO cohesion and Ukraine support. The 2019 senators’ concerns about countering “Kremlin aggression across Europe” proved prescient following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, yet the Trump administration continues strengthening ties with an autocrat resisting European unity against Russian expansion.
Critics labeled Rubio’s Budapest statements a “campaign ad” for Orbán, exposing how Trump officials now openly endorse authoritarian consolidation of power, judicial control, and press suppression—policies Rubio himself documented as threats to U.S. interests just seven years earlier.