Trump Endorses Orbán at CPAC in Video Message

Trump: "I hope he wins, and I hope he wins big"

Former U.S. President Donald Trump opened the fifth CPAC Hungary conference in Budapest on Saturday with a video message, where he assured Prime Minister Viktor Orbán of his "full and complete endorsement" ahead of the April 12 parliamentary elections. The former president called Hungary a "great place and a great country" and Orbán a "fantastic guy."

"He's a strong leader, and everybody respects him. He's shown the whole world that if you want to protect your borders, if you want to protect your culture, if you want to protect your heritage, your sovereignty, and your values, you've got to do it like him," Trump said, adding: "I hope he wins, and I hope he wins big, despite all of the attacks."

Orbán: "The battle is for the soul of the Western world"

The Prime Minister took the stage as the keynote speaker of the event and declared as the central message of his speech: "The battle is for the soul of the Western world," which, according to him, extends beyond politics and encompasses academic life and religious institutions. Orbán welcomed Trump's return to the White House, claiming that since then, the rise of "woke ideology" has decreased, religious freedom has been restored, and border protection has been strengthened.

The Prime Minister described American-Hungarian relations as a "golden age" and positioned Hungary as a crucial battleground where "globalist forces" want to defeat him in the April elections. He cited Ukraine's energy pipeline blockade and Brussels' policy of withholding EU funds as external pressures.

International Right-Wing Gathering

The conference was attended by 667 guests from 51 countries, with 45 speakers and 182 journalists. Among the most prominent foreign speakers were Argentine President Javier Milei, who praised Hungary's "exceptional, courageous leadership" and said the country's decision "will resonate throughout Europe." Santiago Abascal, the president of the Spanish VOX party, called Hungary "the homeland of freedom, sovereignty, and security."

Alice Weidel, co-leader of the German AfD, stated that "the sovereign democratic nation-state is the only sufficiently secure framework in which Western values can truly flourish." Irakli Kobakhidze, the Prime Minister of Georgia, and former Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki also spoke. Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš canceled his personal participation due to the Prague terrorist attack but sent a video message.

Electoral Context: Close Race in Polls

Trump's support comes at a time when Orbán faces the most serious political challenge in 16 years. Public opinion polls paint a contradictory picture: according to Euronews, some surveys – including those by Medián and Závecz Research – show Péter Magyar's Tisza party with a 10-20 percentage point lead among committed voters. At the same time, pro-government institutes such as the Center for Fundamental Rights report a 7-10 point lead for Fidesz.

According to PolitPro's aggregated trend calculation, Tisza stands at 44.9 percent, while Fidesz-KDNP is at 41.9 percent – projecting an extremely close race for the April 12 vote.

Stakes and Consequences

The CPAC Hungary conference clearly indicated that Viktor Orbán is positioning himself as a central figure of the international right-wing ahead of the elections. Trump's open support could strengthen the Fidesz base, but it could also be a mobilizing force for the opposition – the outcome of the election remains an open question.