By Humeyra Pamuk and Jonathan Landay
WASHINGTON, March 25 (Reuters) – U.S. Vice President JD Vance is scheduled to visit Hungary on April 7-8, two sources familiar with the plan said on Wednesday, ahead of what could be right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s toughest election since taking power in a 2010 landslide.
Orban has been endorsed by U.S. President Donald Trump. Reuters reported last week that Vance’s trip was meant to be a show of support for Orban, who most polls suggest is trailing a center-right challenger ahead of an April 12 election.
Plan for Vance’s visit could still change due to developments linked to the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, one of the sources cautioned, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
The visit would follow Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s visit to Budapest in February to publicly back Orban, who is grappling with a weak economy, an energy price shock and a rival seen as a viable alternative.
Orban, one of Trump’s closest allies in Europe, has long been at loggerheads with the EU over a range of issues, including Ukraine. Defying Brussels, he has maintained cordial ties with Moscow, refuses to send weapons to Ukraine, and says Kyiv can never join the European Union.
Trump endorsed him last month, calling him “a truly strong and powerful Leader” in a social media post. On Tuesday, Trump posted another supportive statement on Truth Social, calling on Hungarians to “GET OUT AND VOTE FOR VIKTOR ORBAN”.
The date of Vance’s proposed visit was earlier reported by Politico.
(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk and Jonathan Landay;Editing by David Ljunggren)
