BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Just hours prior to President Donald Trump taking the oath for his second term, with promises of a “golden era” for America, the leader of a Central European nation echoed remarkably similar sentiments about the future.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán asserted that Trump’s return would signal Hungary’s own “golden era” and signify the “collapse” of liberal democracy.
The thematic similarity was unsurprising.
Orbán’s authoritarian approach has long inspired U.S. conservatives, who view Hungary as a potential model for a right-leaning America characterized by reduced immigration, fewer regulations, and the elimination of democratic norms perceived as cumbersome.
Orbán has cultivated a close relationship with Trump, making numerous visits to the president’s Florida resort. This week, the prime minister lauded Trump’s one-sided communication with Russian President Vladimir Putin regarding the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. During a presidential debate last year, Trump referred to Orbán as “a strong man. He’s a tough character.”
Now, with Trump back in office as of January 20, he is pushing the boundaries of executive authority in a manner that elicits comparisons to the anti-democratic tactics used by Orbán and other autocrats.
Orbán has employed state authority to dismantle opposition, reshape the judiciary, and manipulate elections, making it exceedingly difficult for his party to be ousted. He has intensified restrictions on LGBTQ+ rights, immigration, media, and civic organizations.
Despite the differences between their political systems, there are notable parallels between Orbán’s accomplishments in Hungary, and Trump’s agenda and approach for this second term.
A roadmap for office reinstatement
After being elected prime minister in 1998, Orbán faced an unexpected defeat four years later. He then vowed he “would never lose again” and set about transforming Hungary’s political landscape, according to Kim Lane Scheppele, a Princeton professor and former member of Hungary’s Constitutional Court in the 1990s.
During his time away from power, Orbán and his allies laid down a legal framework to consolidate control, which was rapidly put into action once Orbán’s Fidesz party won a two-thirds majority in 2010.
“It wasn’t titled Project 2025,” Scheppele noted, referencing the controversial conservative strategy associated with Trump’s second term that has manifested in many of the president’s early initiatives. “It could have been termed Project 2010.”
The European Parliament has labeled Orbán’s Hungary as an “electoral autocracy.”
Upon returning to office with a Republican majority in Congress, Trump unleashed an array of executive orders aimed at expanding presidential powers and challenging the country’s system of checks and balances. He continues to implement changes to the government without Congressional consultation.
The American Bar Association issued a statement cautioning that many actions taken by the Trump administration conflict with the “rule of law.”
President Donald Trump shakes hands with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in the Oval Office of the White House, May 13, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
Redefining the legal system
One of Fidesz’s most impactful early actions was dismantling judicial independence.
In 2012, Orbán’s administration lowered the required retirement age for judges, resulting in the dismissal of nearly 300 senior judges. The responsibility for appointing new judges was given to a single political appointee—the partner of a Fidesz founder.
“It took three years, and that was that,” Scheppele explained. “As long as his party controlled the highest court, he could evade a lot.”
While Trump and the Republicans cannot unilaterally alter the judiciary’s composition, the similarities with Orbán are evident. Republicans have consistently aimed for a conservative judiciary, and Trump embraced this agenda upon taking office in 2017.
During his first term, Trump appointed three justices to the U.S. Supreme Court, resulting in a conservative supermajority that last year protected the Republican from facing charges over attempts to overturn his 2020 election defeat.
Trump has sought to reshape the U.S. Department of Justice after having often indicated that he would utilize it against his critics and those who have investigated him. He has dismissed prosecutors who probed the January 6, 2021, insurgency at the U.S. Capitol and attempted to purge the FBI.
His administration has attacked judges who have temporarily blocked some of its initiatives, with some officials even suggesting at one point that unfavorable rulings could be ignored.
Nevertheless, Trump’s authority over the judicial branch is not absolute. Numerous judges appointed by Trump exhibited independence in 2020, rejecting his lawsuits aimed at reversing his defeat to Democrat Joe Biden.
The U.S. judiciary system is also significantly larger than Hungary’s and is populated with judges appointed by former presidents, including Biden.
Centralizing political power
Orbán’s initial actions after regaining power involved rewriting Hungary’s constitution and revamping electoral laws to ensure a larger share of lawmakers from his party in the legislature.
Due in part to these modifications, Orbán’s party has secured a two-thirds majority in every election since 2010 while garnering as little as 44% of the total vote. In Hungary, parties—not voters—choose candidates for parliamentary seats, granting Orbán tremendous influence over government formation.
“He dictates who can and cannot pursue a political career,” stated Zsuzsanna Szelényi, an original Fidesz member who left the party in 1994. “He completely controls the party.”
Orbán has defined his party as the true embodiment of Hungarian identity while labeling his opponents as unpatriotic and working for foreign interests. This mirrors Trump, who has employed intimidating rhetoric targeting political adversaries.
Similar trends can be observed in media management. Orbán eroded Hungary’s independent media as wealthy allies, who gained from lucrative state contracts, acquired influential news organizations. Trump has also exerted pressure on U.S. media via lawsuits and regulatory threats.
While Trump does not wield control over party elections in the same manner as Orbán, he has certainly left his mark on the Republican Party, making allegiance to him the party’s foundational principle. He has emphasized loyalty in appointments for top government roles, including leadership positions in the U.S. Justice Department, FBI, and U.S. Defense Department.
Trump is also advocating for modifications to civil service regulations to enable him and his allies to dismiss federal employees deemed disloyal and potentially replace them with those loyal to him.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban shake hands during a meeting in Moscow, July 5, 2024. (Valeriy Sharifulin, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Aligning with authoritarian regimes
Orbán’s shift towards autocracy has paralleled another transformation: his alignment with Russia, China, and other authoritarian regimes.
Géza Jeszenszky, Hungary’s first foreign minister after the end of state socialism, noted that Orbán realized that the limitations imposed by Western democracy were incompatible with the extensive reforms he desired. Consequently, he began to draw lessons from autocratic nations, particularly Putin’s Russia.
“He sought to emulate them,” Jeszenszky remarked.
Trump has a history of praising autocrats, especially Putin — whom he once claimed to have more trust in than U.S. intelligence agencies. He also regarded Putin’s invasion of Ukraine as “brilliant” and has hesitated to ensure that Ukraine is treated as an equal party in negotiations with Russia to resolve the conflict.
Szelényi, formerly a founding member of Fidesz, indicated that fundamental political and economic distinctions between Hungary and the U.S. could complicate such a thorough political takeover in America.
Nonetheless, she cautions that Hungary’s evolution under Orbán serves as a stark warning.
“Once autocratization begins, it accelerates like a snowball,” she stated. “It’s not a phenomenon that halts — it’s a continuum.”
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Riccardi reported from Denver.
