Donald Trump at a meeting with Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán, in the Oval Office on 13 May, 2019. (Getty/ Mark Wilson)
Former US president Donald Trump has “endorsed” Viktor Orbán as he campaigns to remain in power in Hungary’s upcoming parliamentary elections.
In a statement, Trump said: “Viktor Orbán of Hungary truly loves his country and wants safety for his people.
“He has done a powerful and wonderful job in protecting Hungary, stopping illegal immigration, creating jobs, trade, and should be allowed to continue to do so in the upcoming election.
“He is a strong leader and respected by all. He has my complete support and endorsement for reelection as prime minister!”
The race will be close in Hungary’s election, which will take place in April, as six different opposition parties from across the political spectrum have banded together to support Péter Márki-Zay, in an effort to finally get Orbán out of office.
It is unclear what Trump’s “endorsement” actually means, as it is extremely uncommon for a former president to endorse a candidate in a foreign election, but it’s not hard to see why the pair are fond of each other.
Donald Trump and Viktor Orbán share a common interest in stripping LGBT+ rights
Donald Trump and Viktor Orbán have been allies for years, with Orban becoming the first EU leader to endorse Trump’s presidential campaign.
Orbán has also visited the White House, and supported Trump’s failed 2020 re-election campaign.
The pair have a lot in common, for example an interest in building walls on their countries’ borders and a fierce opposition to immigration, but nothing stands out more than their shared love of stripping LGBT+ rights.
Just in case anyone needs reminding, during his time as president, Trump launched attack after attack on the queer community in the US.
The Trump administration banned trans people from the US military, gave federal adoption agencies the green light to reject LGBT+ couples, actively supported discrimination against LGBT+ people in employment, services and healthcare, erased LGBT+ resources, data and language from government websites and fought to deny US citizenship to the children of same-sex parents.
This is far from an exhaustive list – according to GLAAD, Trump attacked LGBT+ people a total of 180 times during his four years in the White House.
As prime minister of Hungary, Orbán has constitutionally banned same-sex marriage, amended the constitution to change the definition of family and effectively ban adoption by same-sex couples and ended legal recognition for trans people.
This year, his anti-LGBT+ propaganda law came into effect, banning the “promotion” of queer lives to minors.
Last month, the Venice Commission, which advises the Council of Europe on constitutional law matters, published an opinion stating that the propaganda law breaches human rights standards.