Amid Tension Over Strait Of Hormuz, Trump Lauds Viktor Orban Ahead Of Hungary Elections

Last Updated:March 22, 2026, 23:06 IST

Donald Trump backs Viktor Orban before tough April election as Hungary joins 22 nation Strait of Hormuz stance and SVR report alleges plot to stage attack.

Amid the tension over Strait of Hormuz continues, US President Donald Trump has endorsed Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban as he is set to face his toughest electoral challenge in April since taking power 16 years ago.

In a video message on Saturday, Trump told the national-conservative Cpac Hungary conference in the capital that Orban was a “fantastic guy".

This remark comes as the Hungarian PM has been trailing a centre-right rival in the polls for more than a year. However, this is not the first time that Trump has backed Orban.

Check Latest Updates On Iran-Israel War Status Today

Last month, Trump in a post on social media said Orban was a strong leader who had “shown the entire world what’s possible when you defend your borders, your culture, your heritage, your sovereignty and your values".

“I hope he wins, and I hope he wins big," he said.

Hungary is one of the over 20 countries that have backed US’s efforts to secure the Strait of Hormuz. In a joint statement, 22 nations- mostly European but also including the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain- condemned Iran’s actions in the Persian Gulf in unambiguous terms. The declaration came weeks of escalating conflict in the region. After the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran on February 28, Tehran retaliated with attacks on its Gulf neighbours as well as on vessels transiting the strait.

In response to Trump’s backing, the PM was quoted saying by The Guardian that the west had become a better place since Trump returned to power, with progressive policies being rolled back and traditional family and Christian values restored.

According to The Guardian, polling averages have suggested that Orbán’s challenger, Péter Magyar and his Tisza – or Respect and Freedom – party, could outscore him by between nine and 11 percentage points on April 12 in what is likely to be Europe’s most consequential parliamentary election of the year.

Meanwhile, a unit of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service, SVR, had last month raised alarm over a sharp drop in public backing for Viktor Orbán.

The Washington Post quoted an internal report by Russian operatives, obtained by the European intelligence service, saying that it is necessary to implement a strategy capable of “fundamentally alter the entire paradigm of the election campaign" by organising an “assassination attempt" on Orban.

“Such an incident will shift the perception of the campaign out of the rational realm of socioeconomic questions into an emotional one, where the key themes will become state security and the stability and defence of the political system," the report for the SVR’s main unit for political influence operations, Directorate MS, or Active Measures Department said.

News world Amid Tension Over Strait Of Hormuz, Trump Lauds Viktor Orban Ahead Of Hungary Elections

Read More