Right-wing media are struggling to reach a consensus about Viktor Orbán’s loss to Peter Magyar in Hungary’s general election on April 12. Some figures have called it a “major loss” for conservatives while others tried to find positive things to say about the results.
During his 16 years in power, Orbán became a close ally of President Donald Trump, his administration, and conservative media in the United States, specifically former Fox News host Tucker Carlson. Just before Orbán’s loss, Vice President JD Vance even traveled to Budapest for a campaign appearance with Orbán, at an event where some attendees were reportedly “wearing red MAGA hats.” Magyar told reporters this week that Orbán had “diverted Hungarian taxpayer funds toward financing” the Conservative Political Action Conference.
Orbán has been praised by right-wing media figures for his hard-line stance on immigration and his crackdown on freedom of the press, so his ouster has been a point of discussion this week among conservative pundits. Podcaster Glenn Beck claimed that the Trump administration needs to see Orbán’s loss as a lesson and that they should be working harder to “drain the swamp” in D.C. Fox News' Brian Kilmeade said he was “glad” Orbán lost because of his close ties to Putin. Daily Wire hosts Michael Knowles and Ben Shapiro were split on the issue — Knowles argued Orbán's loss was a “loss for conservatives” while Shapiro claimed it was not a “switch away from conservatism” for Hungary.