The American Election in Europe
JD Vance flew to Budapest this week to campaign for Viktor Orbán — the leader of probably the most illiberal democracy in Europe — five days before Hungary’s April 12th election.
He said, directly: “I did want to send a signal.”
The signal wasn’t subtle. It was an ideological endorsement. MAGA’s most powerful figures lining up behind the man who built the model they’re trying to replicate.
Orbán had DOGE before DOGE. He packed Hungary’s courts, restructured public institutions, rewrote the constitution, and captured 80% of the media market — all within the first few years of taking power. This isn’t state capture. It’s society capture. The government installs oligarchs, not the other way around.
There’s also a documented pipeline from Budapest to Washington including think tanks, fellowships, five consecutive CPAC conferences in Budapest, and millions paid to American conservative influencers to promote the model. The most important thing Orbán taught MAGA wasn’t immigration policy. It was this to stop limiting government and start using it as a tool for power.
On Sunday, April 12th Hungary votes. Orbán is trailing in the polls for the first time in 16 years. If he loses, it won’t just be a Hungarian story.
For my full analysis, see my newsletter piece on Orbán, how MAGA exported his illiberal model to America, and what an Orbán loss might mean to MAGA’s grip on power:
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