U.S. vice-presidential candidates clash over Orban stance

Politico wrote on Wednesday that the approach of U.S. vice presidential candidates to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban reveals a contrast in their worldviews. While Democratic candidate Tim Walz called Orban a dictator, Republican J.D. Vance considered him a role model.

Democratic Party candidate for U.S. president Kamala Harris introduced the vice-presidential candidate on Tuesday. He is Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. On the other hand, the Republican Party candidate is former financier and bestselling memoir author "Hillbilly Elegy" J.D. Vance, whom presidential candidate Donald Trump nominated on July 15.

On Wednesday, Politico compared both candidates' views on Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and recalled that Walz described him as a dictator in an interview for Fox News.

- The best solution is foreign policy that respects our alliances and is not favorable to dictators like Putin and Orban - said Walz in an interview broadcast two weeks before receiving the nomination.

Politico noted that the Minnesota governor criticized Orban more harshly than Joe Biden. The sitting president said in March that Orban is "seeking dictatorship." Biden's statement caused outrage in the Hungarian government, which seeks to continually strengthen relations with Republicans, especially with their vice-presidential candidate Vance, Politico noted.

Meanwhile, Vance spoke highly of Orban, praising his approach to education and combating so-called 'wokism' (sensitivity to discrimination and prejudice). In September last year, Vance suggested in a podcast that the United States should follow Hungary's lead and ban funding for universities that teach gender theories or critical race theory (studies on the position of black people in U.S. society).

Politico added that Vance defended Orban regarding his close relations with China, which Trump sees as a threat to the United States' position in the world. According to the Republican vice-presidential candidate, Hungary is getting closer to China partly because the U.S. is unable to make the right decisions in its relations with Beijing.

Orban is the only head of government in Europe openly expressing support for Trump. The article recalled that, according to Orban, his advisors were involved in writing the program for the Republican candidate.