Donald Trump: Victor Orban is like me

Orbán is “probably like me”, Trump said Monday in a joint appearance at the White House with the visiting Hungarian prime minister. “A little bit controversial, but that’s OK … you’ve done a good job, and you’ve kept your country safe,” he said, while declaring that Orbán “has done a tremendous job” and is “respected all over Europe.”

Asked about concerns of democratic backsliding in Hungary, Trump told reporters that Orbán is a “tough man but he is a respected man” who has “done the right thing according to many people on immigration. And you look at some of the problems that they have in Europe that are tremendous because they have done it a different way than the prime minister.”

Orbán said his government and the Trump administration were aligned on some global issues. He said: “I would like to express that we are proud to stand together with United States on fighting against illegal migration, on terrorism, and to protect and help Christian communities all around the world.”

No Hungarian prime minister has visited the White House since 2005, and Orbán has not set foot in the Oval Office for over two decades. The Hungarian leader was the only EU head of government to endorse Trump’s campaign during the 2016 election.