Why the White House's glowing invitation to Hungary's Viktor Orban is drawing scrutiny

White House announcement.
(Image credit: Screenshot/Twitter)

The White House on Tuesday confirmed that Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban would be visiting next week. Oddly, it didn't mention Orban's blatantly authoritarian tendencies.

In its Tuesday statement, the White House said Trump and Orban would "discuss ways to deepen cooperation on ... trade, energy, and cybersecurity" and also "celebrate Hungary's 20th anniversary as a NATO member." Yet the fact that Orban has said Europe is "under invasion" by migrants, or that he is ruling a self-described "alternative to liberal democracy," do not seem to be on the table. Neoconservative commentator Bill Kristol also noted in a tweet that "Orban is also big on not being held accountable by the legal system, avoiding legislative oversight, and attacking an independent judiciary and a free media."

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Kathryn Krawczyk

Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.