Will Trump’s America mirror Viktor Orbán’s Hungary in its slide toward authoritarianism?

Hungarian leader and strongman Viktor Orbán, who presided over the radical decline of democracy in his country, was scheduled to meet with former President Donald Trump, now the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort on March 8, 2024.

Orbán has been Hungary’s prime minister since 2010. Under his leadership, the country became the first nondemocracy in the European Union – an “illiberal state,” as Orbán proudly declared. Trump expressed his admiration for Orbán and his authoritarian moves during their meeting at the White House in 2019.

“You’re respected all over Europe. Probably, like me, a little bit controversial, but that’s OK,” Trump said. “You’ve done a good job and you’ve kept your country safe.”

I’ve followed their mutual romance with illiberalism for a long time. Although I am now in the US as an academic, I was elected to the Hungarian Parliament in 2010 when Orbán’s rule started.

As the US braces for a potential second Trump presidency, Americans may rightly wonder: Would Trump’s America mirror Orbán’s Hungary in its slide toward authoritarianism?

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