- The Washington Times - Wednesday, August 30, 2023

Viktor Orban, Hungary’s prime minister, said in an interview the only way to end the war in Ukraine is to “call back Trump.”

In the roughly 30-minute interview, posted on Tuesday on Tucker Carlson’s account on X, Mr. Orban said the best foreign policy “in recent several decades” belonged to Mr. Trump because he treated Russia, the North Koreans and the Chinese “nicely.”

Mr. Orban said “it would not be possible” for the Russians to have invaded Ukraine if Mr. Trump had been president at the time.
The former president, Mr. Orban said, “is the man who can save the Western world and probably the human beings in the globe as well.”

He said Mr. Trump’s reelection would be “the only way out” of the conflict because it’s “impossible” for Ukraine to win the war against Russia. He said Ukraine will run out of soldiers before the Russians do.

Mr. Orban said the time for Ukraine to be admitted to NATO has ended. Instead, a deal should be made with Russia to provide security, and sovereignty for Ukraine, but no membership, he said.

There was a chance to admit Ukraine into NATO back when Russia was weaker, but “we missed the historic opportunity,” he said, adding that it “is not a realistic proposal at this moment, so forget about it.”

He told Mr. Carlson that Russia and the U.S. have very different priorities when it comes to politics. Freedom seems to take precedence in U.S., but for Russia it’s all about keeping the country together.

“First, keep the country and that generates a different kind of culture and understanding of politics,” he said. “That creates a kind of military approach like they have. Always on security, safety, buffer zone, geopolitical approaches.”

This is the second time that Mr. Carlson, a former Fox News host, has met with Mr. Orban.

In 2021, they discussed their shared views on conservative ideologies. This most recent interview was recorded on Aug. 21 on the terrace of the prime minister’s office that overlooks Budapest.

The “most risky question,” Mr. Orban said, pertained to how Ukraine could get more soldiers. He said any troops sent from the West would start a world war with Russia.  

Mr. Orban, who is a member of Hungary’s right-wing party, said that his values align more with the Republican Party, and he considers Mr. Trump a “friend of Hungary on the value basis, historically and wholeheartedly.”

He commented on the multiple indictments of Mr. Trump, saying that the use of the U.S. justice system against political opponents is “impossible to imagine” in Hungary.

“That was done by the Communists,” he said. “It’s a very Communist methodology to do that.”

He also criticized Washington’s termination of its tax treaty with Hungary, but keeping the agreement with Russia.

“We are a member of NATO, we are [an] ally of the United States but we are worse treated than the Russians,” he said. “What’s that about?”

• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.

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