Vance accuses EU of disgraceful meddling in Hungary’s election

With Hungary heading into a pivotal election, US Vice President JD Vance arrived in Budapest and launched a blistering attack on the European Union, denouncing what he described as “disgraceful” meddling while praising Prime Minister Viktor Orbán as a key Donald Trump ally in the fight to defend Western civilisation.

Mr Vance’s trip to the Hungarian capital, coming only days before a vote that independent polling suggests Mr Orbán is on course to lose, highlights how vital the nationalist leader’s re-election is seen to be by Mr Trump’s “MAGA” movement.

“What has happened in this country, what has happened in the midst of this election campaign, is one of the worst examples of foreign election interference that I’ve ever seen or ever even read about,” Mr Vance told a news conference.

He went on to accuse EU officials of deliberately targeting Hungary for political reasons. “The bureaucrats in Brussels have tried to destroy the economy of Hungary. They have tried to make Hungary less energy-independent. They have tried to drive up costs for Hungarian consumers, and they’ve done it all because they hate this guy (Orbán).”

Péter Szijjártó greets JD Vance and his wife Usha on their arrival in Hungary

The European Commission did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

An EU official, however, said the remarks were entirely in keeping with Mr Vance’s previous rhetoric. “Vance’s statements don’t come as a surprise, considering previous declarations,” the official said. “Vance is the one in Budapest supporting one candidate, five days away from the election.”

The visit marked a sharp departure from the long-standing practice of previous US administrations, which generally avoided overt involvement in foreign election campaigns – especially in support of a government that has kept close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin. It was not immediately clear whether Mr Vance’s appearance would boost Mr Orbán at home.

Even so, the visit reinforced a role Mr Vance has come to occupy with increasing frequency: rebuking Brussels as tensions widen across the Atlantic over Mr Trump’s war on Iran, criticism of Ukraine, threats to pull out of NATO and remarks about taking control of Greenland.

Mr Vance had already jolted European audiences with a speech in Munich in 2025, where he accused governments on the continent of suppressing free speech and failing to curb immigration.

Opposition raises alarm over ‘foreign interference’

Mr Vance, whose Budapest trip ahead of Sunday’s election prompted its own accusations of “foreign interference” from Mr Orbán’s challenger, Peter Magyar, said other European nations should take cues from the Hungarian leader’s approach to energy.

It was not immediately clear whether he was referring to Hungary’s continued reliance on Russian oil and gas imports. Mr Orbán has preserved cordial relations with Moscow throughout the war in Ukraine and argues that Russian energy remains indispensable to Hungary.

Mr Trump has already personally backed Mr Orbán, 62, calling him “a truly strong and powerful leader”, while Mr Vance showered the prime minister with praise for his policies ranging from energy to the war in Ukraine.

“I’m here because of the moral cooperation between our two countries, because what the United States and Hungary together represent under Viktor’s leadership and under President Trump’s leadership is the defence of Western civilization.”

Mr Orbán, facing the most difficult re-election battle of his 16 years in power, welcomed what he described as “a golden age” in US-Hungarian relations under Mr Trump’s leadership.

At times, Mr Vance appeared more assured of the outcome than Mr Orbán himself. During a joint news conference, the US vice president predicted victory for the Hungarian leader, who responded by wagging his hand and lifting his eyebrows, seeming to concede that defeat remained a real possibility.

Orbán has backed Trump for years

Mr Orbán’s self-styled “illiberal democracy” echoes several of the defining themes of Trump-era America: a hardline stance on immigration, contempt for liberal norms, hostility toward global institutions, and repeated attacks on the media, universities and nonprofit groups. He was the first European leader to endorse Mr Trump in the 2016 US presidential race.

The Hungarian prime minister has spent years in conflict with the EU on multiple fronts, including Ukraine. He has refused to send weapons to Kyiv, blocked a 90-billion-euro EU loan package for Ukraine and insists the country can never become a member of the bloc.

He has also accused both the EU and Ukraine of trying to influence Sunday’s election and has said Ukraine wants to disrupt Hungary’s energy supply – an allegation Kyiv denies.

Mr Vance said today that “elements within the Ukrainian intelligence services” were attempting “to put their thumb on the scale” in both US and Hungarian elections, though he offered no evidence.

Writing on X before Mr Vance’s arrival, Mr Magyar – whose centre-right Tisza party is forecast by independent pollsters to beat Mr Orbán’s Fidesz – issued his own warning against outside influence.

“This is our country,” he wrote. “Hungarian history is not written in Washington, Moscow, or Brussels – it is written in Hungary’s streets and squares.”