Rubio pledges US support for Orban ahead of Hungary's vote

Eric Martin and Marton Kasnyik, Bloomberg News on Feb 16, 2026

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U.S. President Donald Trump would provide assistance if Hungary ever ran into financial trouble under Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, giving an extraordinary endorsement to the long-time leader ahead of an election in April.

“I can say to you with confidence that President Trump is deeply committed to your success,” Rubio said at a joint news conference with Orban in Budapest on Monday. “We want this country to do well. It’s in our national interest, especially as long as you’re the prime minister and the leader of this country.”

Orban said after a visit to the White House last year that he had received an offer for a “financial shield” from the U.S. president. Rubio’s comments appeared to be the strongest acknowledgment so far that the U.S. was ready to provide that if needed.

Rubio’s remarks come as Orban struggles to close the gap in the polls behind the Tisza party of Peter Magyar, a former insider of the ruling Fidesz party, who wants to bring Hungary back into the European Union mainstream. The election offers to the biggest challenge to Orban’s 16-year rule in Hungary as the backlash over corruption and economic malaise grows.

Trump earlier this month endorsed Orban, who uses similar nationalistic rhetoric and also takes an aggressive stance against immigration. The Hungarian leader has also frequently sparred with the E.U. and has opposed military support for Ukraine since the start of the Russian full-scale invasion four years ago.

Rubio’s visit to Budapest and Bratislava, the capital of neighboring Slovakia, were his only other stops during his trip to Europe to attend the Munich Security Conference last weekend. That choice underscores the importance for the Trump administration of supporting like-minded governments on the continent.

Orban endorsed Trump during the 2016 election campaign and has sought to build close ties to the administration.

On Saturday, Rubio told a hotel ballroom filled with delegates from across the world that Europe’s fate is intertwined with the U.S., while faulting the continent for what he said was a drift away from their shared Western values.

Orban also maintains close diplomatic and energy ties to Russia and has made his central European country a major destination for Chinese investment. Rubio on Monday downplayed Hungary’s dependence on Russian oil, saying it was due to the Hungarian leader’s relationship with Trump that his country was granted a waiver from U.S. sanctions.

The secretary of state also touted more U.S. company investments in Hungary, saying that under Orban the country is “going to protect investments and allow it to continue to be a place that’s friendly for business.”

The visit follows Rubio’s meeting with Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico, another skeptic of the E.U. and of military support to Ukraine. Standing alongside Fico on Sunday, Rubio pledged to make “not just Slovakia, but Central Europe, a key component of how we engage the continent and the world.”

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—With assistance from Thomas Escritt.