Will Trump let Viktor Orban play him like a puppet?

Published November 7, 2024 2:13pm ET



President-elect Donald Trump has big foreign policy ambitions for his second term. He will need allies to help him succeed.

But while Trump prizes loyalty among his subordinates, it’s strange that he seems happy to be a puppet for a thinly-veiled American enemy. That person is Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Although NATO and European Union member-state Hungary might be an American ally on paper, Orban has stated that he views the United States as one of his top three foes. In turn, Orban has centered his foreign policy on the deferential service of China and Russia.

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