Vance praises Hungary's Orbán, accuses EU of influencing election

Politics JD Vance praises Hungarian leader Viktor Orbán, accuses EU of influencing upcoming election By Emmet Lyons, Emmet Lyons Producer Emmet Lyons is a news desk editor at the CBS News London bureau, coordinating and producing stories for all CBS News platforms. Prior to joining CBS News, Emmet worked as a producer at CNN for four years. Read Full Bio Emmet Lyons, Kathryn Watson Kathryn Watson Politics Reporter Kathryn Watson is a politics reporter for CBS News Digital, based in Washington, D.C. Read Full Bio Kathryn Watson April 8, 2026 / 11:35 AM EDT / CBS News Add CBS News on Google Vice President JD Vance suggested that the European Union was interfering with the upcoming Hungarian election, while Vance himself is on a visit to Budapest aimed at boosting strongman Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's chances of winning a tough battle for another term. Vance said Wednesday that there'd been a "lot of conversation about foreign influence" in U.S. elections, adding that he had been accused of of such by coming to Hungary to support Orbán, a nationalist and self-proclaimed proponent of "illiberal democracy." "That's foreign influence. But what's not foreign influence is when the European Union threatens billions of dollars withheld from Hungary because you guys protect your borders. That's apparently not foreign influence," Vance said."I find it darkly ironic that people are accusing me of engaging in some kind of foreign influence. All that we're saying is that Viktor Orbán, he does a good job," the vice president added.Orbán is seeking his fifth consecutive term in office. Elections are set for Sunday, April 12. The Associated Press reports most independent polls show Orbán and his party, Fidesz, running a double-digit deficit behind his main opponent, Péter Magyar, among decided voters.Freedom House, a democracy-oriented U.S.-based nonprofit, designates Hungary as only "partly fr...