President Donald Trump welcomed right wing nationalist Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to the Oval Office Monday, praising him as a ‘respected man’ and saluting him for putting a ‘block up’ to protect Christian communities.
‘I know he’s a tough man but he’s a respected man,’ the president said, praising Orban before reporters in the Oval Office.
‘People have a lot of respect for this prime minister,’ Trump said, responding to a question about democratic backsliding in Hungary.
The president also quipped, speaking about Orban, that he was, ‘probably, like me, a little bit controversial, but that’s okay. You’ve done a good job and you’ve kept your country safe.’
President Donald Trump speaks to the media during a meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, in the Oval Office on May 13, 2019 in Washington, DC. Trump called Orban ‘a respected man’ but also said he was ‘a little bit controversial,’ comparing him to himself
Trump said his counterpart has ‘done the right thing, according to many people on immigration.’
Orban has become a polarizing figure throughout Europe for his refusal to accept refugees under a quota plan amid a 2015 refugee crisis. A UN panel has blasted the regime for depriving rejected asylum seekers of food. Orban and Fidesz political party have effectively established control of Hungarian media, with primary outlets in the hands of allies and oligarchs. He also pushed through constitutional changes that gerrymandered seats, packed a constitutional court, and gained other advantages, while maintaining command over a democratic system.
Orban, after seeking Trump’s permission to speak, said: ‘We are proud to stand together with [the] United States on fighting against illegal migration, on terrorism’ as well as on protecting ‘Christian communities all around the world.’
He said the two have some ‘similar approaches.’
!['We are proud to stand together [with the] United States on fighting against illegal migration,' said Orban](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/05/13/20/13453506-7023723-image-a-45_1557776847535.jpg)
‘We are proud to stand together [with the] United States on fighting against illegal migration,’ said Orban
Trump said Orban was ‘probably, like me, a little bit controversial, but that’s okay’
Trump, speaking again after Orban, agreed, saying: ‘And you have been great with respect to Christian communities. You have really put a block up and we appreciate that very much.’
The meeting put Trump face to face with a leader who has consolidated his grip on power by attacking immigrants and squeezing the judiciary.
The two men were scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting, then meet with him as part of an expanded group.
An Oval Office private audience is among the highest honors a president can grant a foreign leader, and it is one Orban has not enjoyed in decades.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban holds an Oval Office meeting with President Trump on Monday
President Bill Clinton met with Orban in the Oval Office back in 1998, but at that time he was considered a political reformer.
In recent years, he has exerted power over the media and the judiciary, rewriting the constitution and consolidated power.
Like Trump, he has solidified his own political control in part through warnings about an immigrant threat.
‘We must state that we do not want to be diverse,’ he said in a speech last year. ‘We do not want our own color, traditions and national culture to be mixed with those of others.’
In 2015, Hungary built a border fence between it and Serbia and Croatia at a time when large numbers of migrants from the Middle East and Afghanistan were coming to the European Union through Hungary.
Serbia and Croatia are not members of the EU and their border with Hungary became a point of access for migrants, prompting tensions between the neighbors.
Trump’s former chief strategist Steven Bannon has said Orban was ‘Trump before Trump.’ Orban became the first foreign leader to endorse Trump in July 2016.
President Trump, like Orban, has railed against immigration and ‘fake news’
![A bipartisan group of senators warned of the 'downward democratic trajectory [in Hungary] and the implications for U.S. interests in Central Europe.'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/05/13/15/13443952-7023723-image-a-9_1557758981497.jpg)
A bipartisan group of senators warned of the ‘downward democratic trajectory [in Hungary] and the implications for U.S. interests in Central Europe.’
Last Oval Office meeting: President Bill Clinton met with Orban in October 1998, at a time when the new Hungarian prime minister was considered a reformer. His term then last until 2002, and he became prime minister again in 2010
His administration butted heads with the Obama Administration and with the European Union, even as Orban drew closer ties to Moscow and Beijing, nations who are both frequent U.S. adversaries.
The meeting comes days after a bipartisan group of senators warned of the ‘downward democratic trajectory [in Hungary] and the implications for U.S. interests in Central Europe.’
Former chief White House strategist Steve Bannon
Signing onto the letter was James Risch, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
It was also signed by ranking member Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey, GOP Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire.
The letter also called out Moscow for moving an investment bank to Budapest in an
They called the relocation of the International Investment Bank from Moscow an ‘exercise in Russian power projection.’ They also blasted his regime for extraditing two arms dealers to Moscow rather than the U.S. His government sent them ”to their freedom in Moscow,’ according to the letter.
House International Relations Committee chairman Rep. Eliot Engel of New York called on Trump to cancel the meeting.