AFP
Washington
US President Donald Trump on Monday hosted Hungarian leader Viktor Orban–an anti-immigration firebrand and one of his few European admirers–at the White House, despite criticism of the visit at home.
Orban’s one-on-one talks with Trump will offer the Euroskeptic prime minister a choice podium less than two weeks before the start of European Union parliamentary elections in which far-right parties are expected to make a strong showing. Orban’s hardline–some would say xenophobic–stance against refugees and "Brussels bureaucrats” has alienated even former conservative allies.
"Recognizing the long-standing ties between the United States and Hungary, the president and the prime minister will discuss ways to deepen cooperation on a range of issues, including trade, energy, and cyber security,” White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said when she announced the visit.
That announcement came on the same day that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo suddenly cancelled a visit with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin to go to Baghdad, amid mounting tensions with Iran.
Trump has shown a preference for meeting with authoritarian leaders over Washington’s traditional Western allies–he has also welcomed Egypt’s Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan to the White House.
Washington
US President Donald Trump on Monday hosted Hungarian leader Viktor Orban–an anti-immigration firebrand and one of his few European admirers–at the White House, despite criticism of the visit at home.
Orban’s one-on-one talks with Trump will offer the Euroskeptic prime minister a choice podium less than two weeks before the start of European Union parliamentary elections in which far-right parties are expected to make a strong showing. Orban’s hardline–some would say xenophobic–stance against refugees and "Brussels bureaucrats” has alienated even former conservative allies.
"Recognizing the long-standing ties between the United States and Hungary, the president and the prime minister will discuss ways to deepen cooperation on a range of issues, including trade, energy, and cyber security,” White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said when she announced the visit.
That announcement came on the same day that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo suddenly cancelled a visit with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin to go to Baghdad, amid mounting tensions with Iran.
Trump has shown a preference for meeting with authoritarian leaders over Washington’s traditional Western allies–he has also welcomed Egypt’s Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan to the White House.