Staff Reports
In a lively interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, Hungary’s nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán made a bold statement, declaring that the only solution to end the war in Ukraine is the re-election of Donald Trump. Orbán, who praised Trump’s foreign policy while criticizing President Joe Biden’s approach to the conflict, insisted that Trump’s return to office is “the only way out”. He dismissed any suggestion that Ukraine could win the war against Russia, calling it a “lie” and emphasizing that the Russians are far stronger and more numerous than the Ukrainians.
Hungary’s Viktor Orban urges U.S. to ‘call back Trump’ to end Ukraine war in Tucker Carlson interviewhttps://t.co/TBQtlko8B2 pic.twitter.com/jpDA7cW8f6
— The Washington Times (@WashTimes) August 30, 2023
The 30-minute video interview, filmed on the lavish terrace of Orbán’s office in Budapest, marked the second encounter between Carlson and the right-wing Hungarian leader. During Carlson’s visit to Hungary in 2021, he dedicated a week of his program on Fox News to praise Orbán’s “illiberal democracy” as a model for the United States.
Orbán, who has faced criticism for his autocratic rule and rollback of minority rights, took the opportunity in the interview to denounce the federal indictments against Trump. He referred to them as a misuse of U.S. state power and attributed such actions to a “Communist methodology.” Additionally, Orbán questioned why Hungary, a NATO member and U.S. ally, is treated worse by Biden’s State Department than Russia.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Orbán’s government has maintained close ties with Moscow and has actively resisted EU sanctions against Russia. As Putin’s closest ally in the European Union, Orbán has refused to allow the transfer of Western weapons across Hungary’s border with Ukraine. However, the Hungarian Prime Minister has called for an immediate cease-fire and peace talks without revealing his vision for Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
It is worth mentioning that Carlson was let go by Fox News following a lawsuit settlement with Dominion Voting Systems. The network had to pay over $787 million for airing false claims after the 2020 presidential election.
