The Continuing Intertwining of Orbán, Trump, and the American Right

The Continuing Intertwining of Orbán, Trump, and the American Right

President Trump, top MAGA influencers, and the modern American right’s full embrace of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his authoritarian brand of conservatism were on full display at two international CPAC meetings held last week in Poland and Hungary. In fact, CPAC’s transition from an organization founded to advance Ronald Reagan’s vision of limited government, free markets and the championship of freedom and American values around the world to one that celebrates Orban’s closing down of a free press, smothering of non-profits and universities that don’t parrot the government line, and aligning with Vladmir Putin is a prime example of this disturbing shift on the American right. 

 

As Kevin Roberts, president of the Heritage Foundation, proclaimed, “Modern Hungary is not just a model for conservative statecraft, but the model. Americans, Brits, Spaniards, Australians—everyone—can and should learn from it.”  Roberts was the prime mover behind Project 2025. Contrary to the denials during the campaign, the document it produced has pretty much served as a blueprint for the first 100 days or so of the Trump administration.

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What Roberts, CPAC, and others on the American right appreciate most about Orbán is his crabbed blood and soil version of conservatism. In their view, the authoritarian centralizing of government power at home is fine as long as it is used to severely curtail immigration and demonize immigrants, battle liberals, and reassert ‘traditional values.”

 

That is what is at the heart of the continuing lovefest between Viktor Orbán and Donald Trump, which remained front and center, at these two most recent CPAC international events. Delivering the keynote address at this past Thursday’s conclave, held in Budapest, Orbán showered over-the-top praise on President Trump’s first 100 days. "The Trump tsunami swept through the entire world," the Hungarian prime minister remarked. "It gave back hope to the world. We are no longer suffocating in the woke sea." 

 

In a video specially produced for the event, Mr. Trump matched Mr. Orbán’s effusiveness. "You know how I feel about Hungary and you know how I feel about CPAC. I respect and love them both,” said the president.  “I also want to pay special regard to the leader of Hungary, Viktor Orbán. He's a great man and a very special person."

 

More to the point, Mr.Trump’s far-reaching attempt to concentrate power in his own hands, well-exceeding the legal boundaries and usual normative guardrails of the presidency, draws much of its inspiration from Orbán. Similarly, the use of this power to intimidate opponents and punish dissent is right out of the Hungarian prime minister’s successful playbook.  

 

The Hungarian example provided a well-marked road map for President Trump and his key advisors to turn his strongman instincts into concrete action.  The spirit of Orbánism pervades the president’s efforts to roll back democracy, using naked and often lawless intimidation tactics to discredit and silence colleges and universities, media outlets, law firms, and individuals who refuse to get in line and dare to stand up to him. 

 

“The Trump administration’s weaponization of government agencies and flurry of punitive actions against critics has raised the cost of opposition for a wide range of Americans,” wrote Steve Levitsky, Lucan Way and Daniel Ziblatt in a recent New York Times opinion piece.  These experts on democracy and the rise of authoritarianism then bring home the troubling meaning of this development: “When citizens must think twice about criticizing or opposing the government because they could credibly face government retribution, they no longer live in a full democracy.”

 

While these democracy experts are right to sound the alarm, in the United States, we have the tools to fight back. We have deeper, wider and wealthier sources of opposition than were present in Hungary and other nations that have recently gone down the road to authoritarianism. Additionally, we have a richer democratic tradition and more robust constitutional checks and balances. 

 

Still, Orbán’s Hungary serves as a cautionary tale.  The proud embrace of its authoritarian methods by Mr. Trump, key White House advisors, and leading conservative organizations is another confirmation of today's high stakes.  Fueled by key allies on the right, President Trump is firmly committed to bulldozing through constitutional protections and individual rights whenever and wherever they stand in his way.

 

It is up to us to use the aforementioned strong tools at our disposal to fight back, speaking up for the fundamental democratic values and protections that have undergirded true American greatness. In Mr. Trump’s second term, the risks of authoritarianism cannot be taken lightly.