JD Vance travelled to Budapest to urge Hungarians to vote for Viktor Orban last week but his visit failed to reverse a slide in the polls for the prime minster who fell to a crushing election defeat on Sunday.
The US Vice President lavished praise on Orban, branding him a defender of national sovereignty and western civilization, days before Peter Magyar scored a resounding victory over Europe’s longest serving leader.
Orban, a close ally of Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, held an iron grip over the nation after 16 years in charge but was trailing in the polls ahead of Sunday’s election, with Hungarians seeking closer ties with the EU and distance from Russia.
The hard-right leader was polling an average of ten points behind Magyar, according to Politico Europe’s aggregated Poll of Polls, when Vance jetted into Budapest in support of the under pressure premier.
But Orban’s Fidesz party lost the election by a greater margin of 15 points,
claiming a mere 55 seats compared to Magyar’s 138, in a result which will allow the new prime minister to remove many of his predecessor’s constitutional reforms.
‘I won’t tell the people of Hungary how to vote,’ Vance said on Tuesday before immediately urging people to vote for Orban at his campaign rally.
‘We’ve got to get Viktor Orban re-elected as prime minister of Hungary, don’t we?’ he added.
The vice president claimed Orban was ‘a man who has done more than any leader in Europe to bring about a successful resolution to the war between Russia and Ukraine’.
JD Vance urged Hungarians to vote for Viktor Orban as he arrived in Budapest to make a last-gasp attempt to bolster his campaign
Jubilant Hungarians partied through the night as pro-Kremlin leader Viktor Orban was ousted from power after 16 years in charge
He took a phone call from Trump, who voiced support for Orban, during the rally before begging Hungarians to ‘go to the polls this weekend and stand with Viktor Orban’.
‘I love Hungary and I love that Viktor,’ Trump said ‘I’m with him all the way, the United States is with him all the way.’
Orban, a hard-right anti-EU leader, was seen as Trump’s closest ally in Europe and their relationship was viewed as increasingly important as trans-Atlantic relations thaw over the Iran war.
But Vance’s intervention was ultimately unsuccesful with Magyar’s landslide victory giving him significant authority to reset ties with Brussels and Moscow.
András Bíró-Nagy, of Budapest think-tank Policy Solutions, said Orban ‘expected too much from its friendship with the Trump administration’ and ‘overestimated the likely impact of this visit’.
He said the probable electoral effect was ‘close to zero’.
The vice president did not mention the Iran war during his visit. Orban has developed closer ties with Iran during his premiership.
Speaking at an Orban campaign rally, Vance launched a scathing attack on the EU and Ukraine, accusing the EU of attemping to rig the election.
He said the EU had presided over ‘one of the worst examples of foreign election interference that I have ever seen or ever even read about… because they hate this guy’.
Orban, a hard-right anti-EU leader, was seen as Trump’s closest ally in Europe and their relationship was viewed as increasingly important as trans-Atlantic relations thaw over the Iran war
Supporters of Magyar took the streets to celebrate a new era for the country, with his stunning victory
He also said ‘part of the reason’ for his visit was because ‘interference that’s come from the bureaucracy in Brussels has been truly disgraceful.
‘We want you to make a decision about your future with no outside forces pressuring you or telling you what to do. I’m not telling you exactly who to vote for but what I am telling you is that the bureaucrats in Brussels, those people should not be listened to.’
Orban conceded defeat on Sunday as his Fidesz party were humbled by Magyar’s Tisza.
Jubilant Hungarians partied through the night after it became clear that Orban would lose his grip on power.
Crowds gathered across the country chanting ‘Russians go home’ as they took to the streets to celebrate a new era for the country.
‘We did it,’ the new prime minister told a cheering crowd beside the River Danube in Budapest. ‘Together we overthrew the Hungarian regime.’
Magyar, a 45-year-old former member of Orban’s Fidesz party, stood on a platform of opposing Russia and strengthening ties with European allies.
Orban campaigned against Ukraine and Zelensky and came under fire after a leaked phone call emerged where he told Putin ‘I am at your service’.
He consistently blocked EU funding for Kyiv and his defeat is seen as a major victory for Brussels.
During his victory speech Magyar said the ‘healing’ of the nation will begin today and that Orbán’s ‘puppets’ need to go.
He added that Hungary ‘will no longer be a country without consequences’ and that those who ‘stole from the country have to face consequences’.
Crowds gathered across the country chanting ‘Russians go home’ as Peter Magyar won a landslide victory
Joyful revellers in an underground metro station celebrate the resounding Orban defeat
Conceding the election, Orbán told his supporters: ‘The result of the election is clear and painful.’
The 62-year-old, who was Europe’s longest serving leader, added: ‘We don’t have the weight of governing the country so we have to rebuild our communities.
‘We never give up, this is one thing people know about us, we never give up. The days ahead of us are for us to heal our wounds.’
Hungarians came out in force for the election, the first since 2022. After just five hours of voting the turnout was at a record 66 per cent, according to the National Election Office.
This is far higher than in 2022, an election that saw 900,000 fewer voters casting their ballots by 3pm.
While supporters of Magyar’s Tisza party were seen celebrating over the defeat of one of Europe’s fiercest critics, many of Orbán’s supporters were seen weeping upon hearing that he had conceded.
Top European figures posted in celebration of the major political upset.
Sir Keir Starmer celebrated Magyar’s victory, writing on X: ‘Congratulations [Peter Magyar] on your election victory.
‘This is an historic moment, not only for Hungary, but for European democracy. I look forward to working with you for the security and prosperity of both our countries.’
Peter Magyar ran on a mandate of building closer ties with the EU and the rest of Europe while Orban wanted closer ties with Russia
Conceding the election, Orbán told his supporters: ‘The result of the election is clear and painful’
Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission said almost immediately after Orbán conceded defeat: ‘Hungary has chosen Europe. Europe has always chosen Hungary. A country reclaims its European path. The Union grows stronger.’
French president Emmanuel Macron also congratulated Magyar on his victory, writing on X: ‘I just held a meeting with Peter Magyar to congratulate him on his victory in Hungary! France salutes a victory of democratic participation, of the Hungarian people’s attachment to the values of the European Union, and for Hungary in Europe.
‘Together, let us advance a more sovereign Europe, for the security of our continent, our competitiveness, and our democracy.’
And German chancellor Friedrich Merz said in post to X: ‘The Hungarian people have decided. My heartfelt congratulations on your electoral success, dear [Peter Magyar].
‘I am looking forward to working with you. Let’s join forces for a strong, secure and, above all, united Europe.’
As Hungarians went to polling stations across the nation from 6am local time, Magyar said the election was a ‘referendum’ on whether the country continues to drift towards Russia’s sphere of influence.
He bluntly said shortly after casting his own vote that the election was ‘a choice between East or West, propaganda or honest public discourse, corruption or clean public life’.
He added: ‘I urge all Hungarian citizens to exercise their right to vote.’
The nation was also voting on Orbán’s track record and his political ideology, which have undergone a massive transformation through his years in politics.
Once a liberal, anti-Soviet firebrand, he slowly but surely became a Russia-friendly nationalist admired today by the global hard-right.
Supporters of Magyar filled the streets and partied through the night as he took home a landslide victory
‘We did it,’ the new prime minister told a cheering crowd beside the River Danube in Budapest. ‘Together we overthrew the Hungarian regime’
Supporters of the new prime minister flooded the streets as it became clear he had won a stunning victory
His move towards authoritarianism saw him launch harsh crackdowns on minority rights and media freedoms, and subvert many of Hungary’s institutions.
Orbán has had tight control of Hungary’s public media, which he has transformed into a mouthpiece for his party, and vast swaths of the private media market.
He has also long been accused of siphoning large sums of money into the coffers of his allied business elite – an allegation he denies.
The populist figure put significant strain on his nation’s relationship with the EU, seeming to revel in using his veto power to stymie the 27-member bloc’s important decisions.
Most recently he blocked a €90billion (£78.5billion) EU loan to Ukraine, prompting his partners to accuse him of hijacking the critical aid.
He has also been accused of cozying up to Russia. In the run-up to this year’s pivotal elections, media outlets alleged Russian secret services plotted to interfere and tip it in Orbán’s favour.
The Hungarian election was being closely watched across the world, particularly in Europe. In the US, Orbán has long been supported by Trump and his MAGA movement.