{"id":2508098,"date":"2025-11-07T14:56:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-07T19:56:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/orban-lays-on-trump-charm-offensive\/"},"modified":"2025-11-07T14:57:34","modified_gmt":"2025-11-07T19:57:34","slug":"orban-lays-on-trump-charm-offensive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/orban-lays-on-trump-charm-offensive\/","title":{"rendered":"Orban lays on Trump charm offensive"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">12<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Forban-lays-on-trump-charm-offensive%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2508098&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban met with former U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House to discuss several key issues, including the war in Ukraine, Russian energy sanctions, and trade. Orban sought to persuade Trump to support Hungary&#8217;s exemption from U.S. sanctions on Russian oil and gas, emphasizing Hungary&#8217;s dependence on Russian energy through pipelines and the practical difficulties of switching suppliers. He also suggested that many European countries prefer to continue the conflict in Ukraine, contrasting Hungary and the U.S. as pro-peace governments.<\/p>\n<p>Trump praised Orban as a strong and popular leader and indicated he was considering granting Hungary a waiver for continuing Russian energy imports. The meeting also touched on <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >potential business deals involving<\/a> U.S. nuclear fuel and concerns about Chinese influence in Hungary&#8217;s telecom sector.<\/p>\n<p>Orban criticized the Biden administration for the escalation of the ukraine war and expressed hope for peace efforts, aligning with Trump&#8217;s views. The meeting was seen as a chance for Orban to bolster his international standing ahead of Hungarian elections and to promote the idea of a Trump-Putin summit aimed at resolving the conflict-a notion met with skepticism, especially from Ukraine.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Ukraine was hopeful that Trump&#8217;s administration might provide enhanced military support, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/poll-only-12-have-great-trust-in-biden-amid-russian-war\/\" title=\"Poll: Only 12% Have &#039;Great&#039; Trust in Biden amid Russian ...\">including long-range missiles<\/a>, to aid their defense. Analysts encouraged Ukraine&#8217;s leadership to make a strong case to Trump for expanded U.S. assistance to help turn the tide in the war.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Orban lays on Trump charm offensive, seeks to sway him on Russian oil and Ukraine peace<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2394552\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/ukraine\/\">Ukraine<\/a> held its breath during President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\">Donald Trump<\/a>&rsquo;s Friday bilateral meeting with <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/hungary\/\">Hungarian<\/a> Prime Minister <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/viktor-orban\/\">Viktor Orban<\/a> at the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/white-house\/\">White House<\/a>, through which Orban steadily sought to move the president off his current position on its war against <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/russia\/\">Russia<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Orban&rsquo;s meeting with Trump, over lunch in the White House&rsquo;s Cabinet Room, comes as Ukraine expresses hope Trump may provide the country, three years into its war against Russia, with more long-range offensive capabilities, including Tomahawk missiles.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3879516\/trump-affordability-con-job-walmart-thanksgiving-basket\/\">Trump tees off on affordability &#8216;con job&#8217; after being challenged on Walmart Thanksgiving basket<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3879375\/trump-minority-coalition-fractured-how-can-republicans-salvage\/\">Trump&#8217;s minority coalition fractured this week. How can Republicans salvage it?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3879168\/trump-warns-republicans-never-see-office-again-terminate-filibuster\/\">Trump warns Republicans will &#8216;never see office again&#8217; if they don&#8217;t &#8216;TERMINATE THE FILIBUSTER!&rsquo;<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>However, Orban, whose<span style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;\"><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/nato\/\">  NATO<\/a>-member country relies heavily on Russian energy, has his own agenda, including exemptions from the U.S.&rsquo;s new sanctions against Russian oil and natural gas companies, which were&nbsp;<\/span>issued to put pressure on Russian President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/vladimir-putin\/\">Vladimir Putin<\/a> to end his war against Ukraine.<\/p>\n<p>Trump heaped praise on his &ldquo;friend&rdquo; shortly after Orban arrived at the White House on Friday afternoon.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s done a fantastic job. He&rsquo;s a very powerful man within his country, but he&rsquo;s also beloved. They love Viktor. The people that know him do. He&rsquo;s run a really great country, and he&rsquo;s got no crime, he&rsquo;s got no problems, like some countries do,&rdquo; Trump told reporters at the top of the meeting, previewing that it would pertain to trade, the war in Ukraine, and energy products. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a very special person. I&rsquo;ve known him for a long time.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">President Donald Trump, left, greets Hungary&rsquo;s Prime Minister Viktor Orban at the White House, Friday, Nov. 7, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo\/John McDonnell)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Trump also confirmed to reporters that he is &ldquo;looking at&rdquo; a possible waiver for Hungary to continue purchasing Russian energy, despite the pressure he placed on other European countries last summer to stop doing so.<\/p>\n<p>Orban himself sought to &ldquo;explain clearly what the consequences for the Hungarian people would be,&rdquo; because, as a landlocked country, Hungary has limited options for its energy supply.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We are supplied by pipelines. Pipeline is not an ideological political issue. It&rsquo;s a physical reality,&rdquo; the prime minister said. &ldquo;We don&rsquo;t have, exactly as the president explained to you, so we will negotiate on that point. It&rsquo;s vital for us.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>During the meeting, Orban also appeared to undermine Ukraine&rsquo;s position in the war and indicated that other European countries were perpetuating the conflict.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The only pro-peace government is the United States government and the small Hungary in Europe,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Anyway, all the other governments prefer to continue the war, because many of them think that Ukraine can win on the front line, which is a misunderstanding of the situation, so it&rsquo;s a complicated issue. We will discuss it.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Later in the meeting, Orban amplified one of Trump&rsquo;s favorite talking points, claiming that former President Joe Biden permitted the war to start and exacerbated the killing by supplying Ukraine with billions of dollars&rsquo; worth of security assistance.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;No question that if at the time, the name of the United States president could have been Donald Trump, there would be no war between Ukraine and Russia. That&rsquo;s clear,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We have to restore something which was ruined and created from here. And that&rsquo;s the reason why I understand absolutely that the devotion of the president, now, to do everything to stop the war, because that would not be without the previous government pressure from here. So, the reason why I&rsquo;m here to be as much &mdash; as helpful I can to contribute to the peace efforts of the president, because that was an enormous mistake.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I think that the war is going to end in the not too distant future,&rdquo; Trump added, prompting Orban to say that he had &ldquo;some ideas&rdquo; to pitch directly to Trump from behind closed doors.<\/p>\n<p>Heritage Foundation European affairs senior research fellow Paul McCarthy agreed Orban&rsquo;s &ldquo;main request&rdquo; would be a sanctions waiver, &ldquo;for at least some period of time,&rdquo; before Hungary&rsquo;s elections next year, but predicted Trump would &ldquo;want something in return for this favor,&rdquo; including Hungarian purchases of U.S. nuclear fuel amid his tariffs against the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/european-union\/\">European Union<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;My sources tell me that [foreign direct investments] are in the offing as part of a business deal,&rdquo; McCarthy told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. &ldquo;These would be investments, but would help both sides.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Trump and Orban would also discuss <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/china\/\">China<\/a>, according to McCarthy, after the Trump administration had reiterated to Hungary that &ldquo;investments or provision of weaponry, anything touching on national security interests, cannot be exposed to Chinese influence.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Telecoms &hellip; will certainly come up since <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/huawei\/\">Huawei<\/a> is such a big part of the Hungarian telecom market,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s talk and agreements that Nokia from Finland would take over Huawei&rsquo;s role in Hungarian telecoms.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>For American Enterprise Institute senior fellow Dalibor Rohac, it is not &ldquo;entirely clear&rdquo; why Trump holds Orban &ldquo;in such high esteem&rdquo; and provides him with the &ldquo;platform&rdquo; of a meeting at the White House.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Hungary&rsquo;s current leadership has a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/uncovered-conman-with-long-history-of-deceit-dennis-montgomery-inserted-false-information-into-election-fraud-investigation-whos-paying-him\/\" title=\"UNCOVERED: Conman With Long History of Deceit, Dennis Montgomery, Inserted False Information Into Election Fraud Investigation, Who\u2019s Paying Him?\">long track record<\/a> of disregard of U.S. interests &mdash; on China, defense spending, Russian energy, and other subjects,&rdquo; Rohac told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>But McCarthy dismissed criticism of Orban&rsquo;s autocratic tendencies by Trump, the president preferring instead to use his political capital for &ldquo;the geopolitical discussion having to do with Hungary&rsquo;s relations with Russia and China.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>To that end, Trump welcomed Orban outside the West Wing, describing the prime minister as a &ldquo;great leader.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>It is that rhetoric that is the second reason for Orban&rsquo;s meeting at the White House, with the sit-down, in the words of AEI&rsquo;s Rohac, an opportunity to portray himself &ldquo;as someone who is respected and has access to leaders on the world stage.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>That is &ldquo;despite the near-universal ostracism that he encounters in most of Europe, in the hope that the images help reverse what has been a steady decline in popular support ahead of the next year&rsquo;s election,&rdquo; Rohac said. &ldquo;Second, Orban seeks to revive the idea of a Trump-Putin summit in Budapest &mdash; ideally leading to a bargain made over the heads of Ukrainians and Europeans &mdash; which would further elevate his own standing on the world stage and validate his pro-Russian priors.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Trump has downplayed the prospect of another meeting between himself and Putin after a second sit-down tentatively scheduled for last month, after an initial one in Alaska in August was canceled after an unproductive call between Secretary of State <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/marco-rubio\/\">Marco Rubio<\/a> and his Russian counterpart, Russian Foreign Affairs Minister <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/sergey-lavrov\/\">Sergey Lavrov<\/a>, in part, over disagreement over territorial concessions.<\/p>\n<p>However, Trump on Friday appeared optimistic regarding a second meeting with Putin when asked by reporters, saying, &ldquo;There is always a chance. A very good chance.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The basic dispute is they just don&rsquo;t want to stop yet,&rdquo; he said later. &ldquo;I&rsquo;d like to keep it in Hungary, in Budapest, that meeting. It turned out I didn&rsquo;t want to do that meeting because I didn&rsquo;t think anything was going to be happening of significance.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>A Trump-Putin summit in Budapest has been criticized by Ukraine as a repeat of the 1994 meeting in which the Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances, under which Ukraine surrendered its Soviet-era nuclear arsenal in exchange for since-disregarded security guarantees, was signed.<\/p>\n<p>Orban&rsquo;s meeting with Trump coincides with Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine Olha Stefanishyna telling <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2025-11-06\/ukraine-in-positive-talks-with-us-on-missiles-ambassador-says\">Bloomberg<\/a> that Ukraine is having &ldquo;positive&rdquo; discussions with the president&rsquo;s administration about Tomahawk missiles.<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3876768\/trumps-post-election-diagnosis-risks-not-seeing-forest-for-trees\/\"><strong>TRUMP&rsquo;S POST-ELECTION DIAGNOSIS RISKS NOT SEEING THE FOREST FOR THE TREES<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Peter Dickinson, editor of the Atlantic Council&rsquo;s UkraineAlert, encouraged Zelensky to keep making &ldquo;his case&rdquo; to Trump &ldquo;for continued and ideally expanded U.S. support.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It is crucial for Zelensky to outline a realistic plan for how Tomahawk missiles will change the military situation in Ukraine&rsquo;s favor,&rdquo; Dickinson told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. &ldquo;While Putin offers wild historical theories and imperial obsessions, Zelenskyy should seek to be cool and calculated in his efforts to convince Trump that the war can be won with American help.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Orban courts Trump to ease Russian oil sanctions, push peace<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3007,"featured_media":2508099,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/AP25311634575479-1.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[66699,3817,11630,5894,3634],"class_list":["post-2508098","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-charm-offensive","tag-diplomacy","tag-orban","tag-politics","tag-trump"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/AP25311634575479-1.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2508098","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3007"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2508098"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2508098\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2508102,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2508098\/revisions\/2508102"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2508099"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2508098"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2508098"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2508098"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}