Inside Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s not-so-secret mission to elect Trump

During a speech this summer in front of thousands of supporters, Hungary’s far-right prime minister, Viktor Orbán, detailed the close connections he has nurtured with former President Donald Trump.

“We have entered the policy-writing system of President Donald Trump’s team,” Orbán said. “We have deep involvement there.” 

The former president speaks highly of the Hungarian leader, too. During his debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump described Orbán as one of the world’s “most respected men” — a “strong man” and “a tough person.”

Beneath the close public relationship between the two leaders are what sources have described as frequent and detailed exchanges that delve deeply into political and governing strategy. Should Trump win the election next week, theirs could become a defining foreign policy relationship for a second Trump term.

“Orbán put all his cards on Trump’s victory,” one source close to the Hungarian government told CBS News – a reality Orban is not shy about broadcasting. 

“Just got off the phone with President @realDonald Trump,” Orban posted on X on Thursday. “I wished him the best of luck for next Tuesday. Only five days to go. Fingers crossed.”

While those close to Orbán and the Trump campaign have declined to specify the precise nature of the private communication between the two, sources close to the Hungarian government describe the use of Hungarian government-funded think tanks as conduits used to exchange information with conservative U.S. think tanks on topics like Ukraine, family policy and winning elections.

“As left-wing parties have been helping each other for the past hundred years, with policies and also sometimes with campaign tactics, it is quite possible that conservatives from across the globe from India to Europe to America could help each other with some of the best practices in campaigns as well,” Istvan Kiss, of Danube Institute, a pro-government think tank in Budapest told CBS News.

A focus on “how to win”

In his 14 years in power, Orbán’s government has passed legislation that targeted asylum seekers, non-governmental organizations, LGBTQ+ individuals, and the independent press. The ruling party, Fidesz, passed a law that transferred control of Hungary’s main state universities to foundations run by Orbán’s allies. And Orbán has become known for xenophobic and racist statements, calling refugees “Muslim invaders” and saying Hungarians do not want to become a “mixed race.”

Orbán’s administration has urged the Trump campaign to chart an isolationist path on the Ukraine conflict, with think tanks playing a pivotal role in delivering that message. Communication flows openly between Hungarian and conservative think tanks in the U.S. and then is funneled to members of Trump’s campaign staff, according to multiple sources close to the Hungarian government, all of whom spoke on the condition they remain unnamed out of fear of reprisal.

A  polling firm called KÓD Piackutató Intézet, which is linked to the pro-Orbán think-tank Századvég Foundation shares information with allies of the Trump campaign that focuses on “how to win elections,” according to a source close to the think tank. 

Századvég Foundation was founded in 1993 to conduct political research. It’s known for working with American political GOP consultants, including the late Arthur J. Finkelstein, who also worked on campaigns for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ronald Reagan. Századvég relies on a trademark formula: “creating an enemy.” 

The Századvég Foundation is one of a handful of Hungarian think tanks that use Hungarian taxpayer funds to initiate pro-government objectives, which include pushing for closer relationships with foreign governments.

One of the closest bonds is between the pro-Orbán Danube Institute and the Washington, D.C.-based Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank recently known for its role in a possible Trump transition plan known as Project 2025. 

Dr. Kevin Roberts, president of the Heritage Foundation, described Orban’s leadership as a “model for conservative governance” during a press briefing earlier this year. Former president Trump has denied any involvement in Project 2025. Members of the two think tanks have held in-person meetings every three months, both in Washington, D.C., and Budapest, where experts discuss issues such as the Ukraine war and immigration, according to sources close to both institutions.

In 2023, the Danube Institute also agreed to host visiting researchers from The Heritage Foundation to study Hungarian policies in various fields. Heritage and Danube signed an agreement in 2023 that involved no financial transactions by either party, CBS has learned. Through cooperation with right-wing intellectuals abroad, the Danube Institute has proved instrumental in promoting the culturally conservative vision of Orbán’s Hungary.

“I am proud to call Viktor Orbán a friend and ally, and I am proud of the strong relationship between Heritage and The Danube Institute,” Kevin Roberts,  President of The Heritage Foundation told CBS News.

“Hungary is an example for all of Europe in how it promotes family values and national sovereignty, as well as for its implementing an immigration policy that puts the interest of the common man first,” Roberts said. “While Heritage does not take a cent from foreign governments or institutions, we are working alongside conservatives around the world to end the globalist era.”

These cross-border initiatives appear to be part of a foreign policy strategy for Orbán. A recent investigation by the independent Hungarian news outlet Atlatszo revealed that government funding has enabled the Danube Institute to pay more than $1.64 million to its foreign partners over the past three years. Danube’s payments to visiting scholars, writers, and speakers, predominantly from the U.S., have risen during that time. 

Cooperation between the Heritage Foundation and Hungarian government proxies like the Danube Institute, became more active after the 2020 elections, according to Atlatszo’s investigation.

The Danube Institute, for instance, paid a visiting lecturer from the Texas Public Policy Foundation $8,400 to write a 10-page paper “on Hungarian migration policy and lessons learned for the state of Texas,” according to a 2024 contract described by the Hungarian news outlet. 

That Texas public policy author, Melissa Ford Maldonado, previously worked for the Trump White House as a fellow at the Office of American Innovation and then at the Domestic Policy Council. Maldonado did not respond to CBS News’s request for comment. 

“The Orbán government has clearly invested a lot through a variety of means trying to shape U.S. public opinion,” said one senior U.S. official who closely tracks those communications.

Hungary has not hired agents in Washington to lobby for its interests – it is one of the few nations without a single active firm or individual registered with the U.S. Justice Department, a requirement for all foreign government lobbyists.

Security concerns

Think tanks are not the only channel for communication between the Hungarian government and the U.S. 

“Viktor Orbán and a few higher-ranking people around him frequently exchange text messages with high-level Republican politicians,” a source close to the Hungarian Embassy in Washington, D.C., said, suggesting that Orbán wants to keep a close eye on U.S.-Hungary relations. “Which can raise security concerns.” 

One of these Republicans is Trump’s running mate, U.S. Sen. JD Vance of Ohio. Vance met with Hungarian officials in Washington D.C, and he is one of the most vocal U.S. senators in support of Orbán.

“I think Orbán made smart decisions that we could learn from in the U.S.,” said Vance in an interview with CBS’ “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” in June 2024.  

Vance was invited to Budapest in the fall by individuals close to the Hungarian government, CBS News has learned. He canceled the trip but some in his party have paid frequent visits to Hungary during the past year and reciprocated the invitation to Washington to their Hungarian counterparts. 

In February, Vance attended a closed-door event at the Hungarian Embassy in Washington, D.C., about Christian values and Hungary’s pro-family policies, a source close to the Hungarian Embassy told CBS News. The source said political director Balazs Orbán (no relation to Viktor Orbán) is frequently in touch with Trump’s running mate.

Multiple sources in Washington called Balazs Orbán “a key figure in building relationships” between Hungary and Trump’s team. “He plays a very active role in this,” one source said. 

The former president’s son, Donald Trump Jr., visited Budapest in June, to give a speech at Mathias Corvinus Collegium. His visit focused on the future of Hungarian-American relations, the war in Ukraine and opportunities to forge peace. A source close to the Hungarian embassy said Trump Jr.’s invitation served the same purpose as Vance’s: “building a network of people Orbán can contact directly” in case Trump wins the presidency.

Balazs Orbán met Vance in April 2023 in Washington, D.C. He called Vance a “good friend of Hungary” and thanked him for standing up for their shared values in a post on X.

The active information exchange has come at a fragile moment for U.S.-Hungary relations. Last month, five Republican U.S. senators returned from a trip to Hungary with a blunt declaration – that Orbán’s government had displayed a noticeable shift toward Russian President Vladimir Putin. 

“Our delegation and many of our congressional colleagues are increasingly concerned by Hungary’s deepening and expanding relationship with Russia and the continued erosion of its democratic institutions,” U.S. Sen Jerry Moran, a Republican from Kansas, said in a statement released by senators after the visit.

The Senate delegation was led by Moran and also included Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, John Cornyn of Texas, John Boozman of Arkansas, and John Hoeven of North Dakota.

“We have Hungary as an ally of the U.S., and we are deeply concerned with the extent of democratic backsliding in Hungary as well as Hungary’s choices of deepening ties with Putin’s Russia and Xi’s China,” one senior U.S. diplomat told CBS News. “That’s where our focus is.”

Orbán is widely seen as Putin’s closest ally in the EU — he frequently repeats pro-Kremlin talking points about the Ukraine war. And he has vetoed multiple EU decisions to support Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion started. 

Orbán’s relationship with Trump has only strengthened since the former president left office in 2021. The two met in July at Mar-a-Lago during Orbán’s “peace mission” right after visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin. 

Péter Krekó, the director of the Budapest-based Political Capital research institute called the timing of the Mar-a-Lago meeting, on the heels of the Putin visit, “symbolic,” noting that they both offered similar “pro-peace” message about the conflict in Ukraine.

“The success of Hungarian soft power has been biggest in the United States,” said Kreko, whose think tank is not government-sponsored. “Classic soft power tools made it possible: personal connections, investments in media ties, and diplomacy [between think tanks] — all with a lot of money.” 

The Trump campaign, Sen. Vance, and Prime Minister Orbán’s political director, Balazs Orbán, did not respond for comment. 

Századvég Foundation, KÓD Piackutató Intézet, and the Danube Institute did not respond to a request for comment from CBS News.