I guess just title? I don’t understand this move, Orban is notorious for being buddies with Putin so why would he accept the USA’s support? Opportunism or? Also by “attacking Brussels” I meant that Vance was saying they were meddling with the Hungarian elections.
I see polls taken after JD’s campaign rallies show Orban’s numbers sinking even further.
Vance dislikes the EU intensely. The EU hates Orban. Vance favors US disengagement from the debacle in Ukraine. Orban is one of very few European voices for peace in Ukraine. Orban is a conservative with views on immigration and other social issues very close to those of MAGA.
I’m not sure I would call Orban “buddies with Putin”. He isn’t afflicted with Putin Derangement Syndrome like most of the rest of the European elites are, but he is no Russophile. He is more an opportunistic pragmatist like Turkey’s Erdogan.
He didn’t really do much to oppose the EU’s anti-Russia policies and always signed off on sanctions until it became clear that there was no chance of defeating Russia and the EU’s obsession with Ukraine was only hurting European economies.
I’d say it goes beyond Vance personally. The US generally dislikes the EU since it’s much easier to negotiate with individual countries from a position of absolute power. While the EU inevitably does bend over for the US on every issue, they always go through a bit of drama first. The stage we’re at now, is where the US would just like to burn Europe down so it can’t become integrated with China economically, and then scrap whatever is left for parts by poaching remaining industry. EU kind of stands in the way of that.
It’s also a well-beloved liberal “woke” institution.
certainly helps sell the narrative of it being the enemy to maga
Yes, I’d say the US would prefer a balkanized Europe than one big united block. The EU still has a some margin of negotiation regarding US demands. Without the EU, the US would be able to do whatever it pleases.
Vance dislikes the EU intensely.
Rare JDPON Vance W.
He is more an opportunistic pragmatist like Turkey’s Erdogan.
Does he play to both sides and then lose on both continuously, though?
Viktor Orban has voice support for MAGA and Donald Trump. Although he is against Ukraine this is more because of Ukrainian-Hungarian tensions due to historical context and border disputes. His views for everything else are pretty establishment.
It serves Americas interests if there is a veto option available within the EU they can influence, and Orban tends to leverage that for political gains.
Orban is playing both sides, just like Erdogan. He doesn’t condemn Russia along with the rest of Europe, because much of Hungary’s economy still depends on Russia, and also lately on China. At the same time he provides Ukraine with fuel and electricity, while NATO bases in Hungary are used as resupplying stations for Ukrainians, and Orban himself has agreed every single European policy regarding the war in Ukraine. He regularly catches headlines as being opposed to the EU, because he always wants something in exchange for his consent. He regularly forms coalitions around Hungary that veto nearly all European policies, and then uses those vetoes as bargaining chips to negotiate himself into a better position within the EU.
He’s also a far-right anti-immigration anti-gay anti-“liberal” devout Pentecostal Christian (which plays really well with American Pentecostals), and he was one of the few non-US politicians who supported Trump’s election both times. It is very likely that he provided Trump with intelligence on how the Europeans were attempting to turn the tide for Biden/Kamala in the latest elections. It is also very likely that the US is using Orban as a Trojan horse to further weaken the EU, either by influencing/buying his vote in the EU, or by just publicly supporting him and making the other Europeans suspicious.
Also, don’t forget that Orban’s government is supported by the descendants of Nazi collaborators and also those who organized the Hungarian Uprising. Ultimately, they deeply hate the Russians, and their goal is to see an independent Hungary out of the EU, or in a very much weakened EU. Right now they are prioritizing the EU front, as they see that as a threat to sovereignty and source of immigration.
Have you seen Orban’s couch? For JD, it was love at first sight.
I actually don’t understand that reference, does JD have a fetish for couches lmao?
https://factually.co/fact-checks/politics/origin-jd-vance-sofa-sex-rumor-869cf7 A great example of the Streisand effect, the more he denies it, the more it is in the news.
