Vice President JD Vance stepped off the diplomatic script during a Budapest visit, accusing European Union bureaucrats of orchestrating economic sabotage against Hungary while standing directly next to Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
"The bureaucrats in Brussels have tried to destroy the economy of Hungary," Vance said at the joint appearance, which occurred just before a Hungarian election. He added that EU officials had worked to undermine the country's energy independence and jack up consumer costs, all motivated by personal animus toward Orbán.
Vance characterized the EU's actions as "one of the worst examples of election interference" he had witnessed.
The comments carry weight given Vance's position, yet they collide with a basic financial reality: Hungary functions as a net recipient of EU funds. The country draws substantially more money from Brussels than it contributes to the bloc's budget, a dynamic that complicates the narrative of economic sabotage.
The visit underscored the incoming administration's willingness to embrace figures at odds with Western European establishments. Vance's remarks on the EU's supposed campaign against Hungary arrived during a period of strained relations between Orbán's government and Brussels over judicial independence, democratic standards, and rule-of-law concerns that have triggered funding disputes and investigations.
By aligning himself with Orbán so visibly and launching such pointed attacks on EU leadership, Vance signaled an anticipated shift in how the US might engage with Hungary and the broader European political landscape in coming months.
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