Orban reveals Trump's alarming plans for Ukraine war if elected
Budapest, Hungary - Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban said former US president Donald Trump told him during a meeting that he would "not give a penny" to the war in Ukraine.
Orban – the only EU leader to have maintained ties with the Kremlin since Russia invaded Ukraine – travelled to Florida on Friday to meet his "good friend" Trump. He has frequently expressed hope for the Republican's return to power.
Speaking on Hungarian TV late Sunday about his visit, Orban said the two had discussed the war in Ukraine during their meeting at Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence.
"He has a very clear vision, which is hard not to agree with. He says the following: first of all, he will not give a penny in the Ukraine-Russia war," Orban said.
"That is why the war will end, because it is obvious that Ukraine cannot stand on its own feet... If the Americans do not give money, the Europeans alone will not be able to finance this war. And then the war is over," he insisted, claiming that Trump has "quite detailed plans" on how to end the conflict.
Trump returned the praise for Orban in an interview Monday, describing him as a "tough man" and saying the Hungarian leader believed Russia would not have invaded had Trump been president.
"All of those dead people in blown-up cities because Ukraine is now just like a demolition site, what they've done to Ukraine – none of that would have happened," Trump told CNBC.
Biden campaign blasts "dictator" Orban
President Joe Biden has repeatedly blasted Trump for his relationship to a politician that he has described as "looking for dictatorship."
"He was with Viktor Orban, who talked about democracy being the problem, and telling how much he understood and agreed with him. Come on. I mean, this is not who we are," Biden told a campaign event Monday in New Hampshire.
Last week in a fiery State of the Union speech Biden accused Trump of "bowing down" to Russian President Vladimir Putin over Ukraine.
Biden's campaign added Monday that Orban had "rigged his political system to keep himself in power."
"President Biden stands up to dictators and defends freedom," campaign spokesperson Ammar Moussa said in a statement. "Donald Trump consistently praises authoritarian leaders and dictators."
Cover photo: IMAGO / Xinhua