Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban (L) meet in Moscow on Friday, July 5, 2024. Photo:Valeriy Sharifulin, Kremlin Pool. Polls indicate that Orban is way behind Opposition leader Péter Magyar
Germany on Wednesday chided JD Vance for hypocrisy, as it pushed back against the U.S. vice president’s accusation that Brussels was meddling in Hungary’s election.
Berlin said that, on the contrary, Vance’s visit to Budapest shortly before Sunday’s vote suggests that he himself may be guilty of election interference, as he vigorously boosted the populist-nationalist government.
“We reject the accusation made by U.S. Vice President JD Vance at an event in Hungary” about EU meddling, deputy government spokesperson Sebastian Hille told reporters during a press conference.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, left, wave to the audience during a campaign rally in Budapest, Hungary Tuesday, April 7, 2026. Orbán is widely disliked and frequently opposed by many European Union leaders and institutions, often described as a “thorn in the side” of the EU due to his “illiberal” policies, close ties to Russia, and repeated use of veto powers(Jonathan Ernst/Pool Photo via AP)
“I would like to point out — since Vance is complaining about the EU’s alleged interference in the election — that the U.S. vice president was in Hungary just a few days before the election. This fact alone speaks for itself as to who is interfering,” he added.
Standing next to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán , a close ally of Russian president Vladimir Putin in Budapest on Tuesday, Vance argued that “what has happened in this country, what has happened in the midst of this election campaign, is one of the worst examples of foreign election interference that I’ve ever seen or even read about.”
Vance also slammed “the bureaucrats in Brussels, who have done everything that they can to hold down the people of Hungary, because they don’t like the leader, who has actually stood up for the people of Hungary.”
After delivering a full-throated endorsement of Orbán, the vice president faced immediate criticism from Hungary’s opposition for trying to put his thumb on the scale in another country’s election. The White House views Orbán and his so-called illiberal democracy as a key ideological ally in Europe.
U.S. President Donald Trump, who admires Putin, has endorsed Orbán multiple times during the campaign, marking an unusual show of support from the U.S. for a European leader who is battling for reelection.
Opposition leader Péter Magyar criticized Vance’s visit on X. “No foreign country may interfere in Hungarian elections,” he wrote. “This is our country. Hungarian history is not written in Washington, Moscow, or Brussels — it is written in Hungary’s streets and squares.”
The German government spokesperson also said that Chancellor Friedrich Merz had “no preference” concerning the outcome of Sunday’s vote and will accept how the Hungarian people vote.
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