Orban Claims U.S. National Security Strategy Validates His Diagnosis of European Decline

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has hailed the Trump administration’s newly released U.S. National Security Strategy as validation of his longstanding critique of the European Union, asserting that Washington now shares his diagnosis of a “civilisational-scale” European decline.

In a social media post Thursday, Orban labeled the strategy “the most important and most interesting document of recent years,” stating it speaks to Brussels in the same tone “the Biden administration and Brussels used when speaking about us.” He added: “What goes around comes around.”

The Hungarian leader further claimed that the U.S. perceives Europe as having “hit the wall of a long economic dead end,” where a weak ally cannot defend itself or be relied upon internationally. Orban also described the strategy as indicating a broader “civilisational crisis” in Europe, with democracy, free markets, and core values “in danger.”

He welcomed what he termed American support for rebuilding strategic ties with Russia, criticizing European liberals for having “burned” those links—a stance consistent with his pro-engagement approach toward Moscow and skepticism of EU sanctions.

By framing the strategy as evidence that “America has a precise understanding of Europe’s decline,” Orban asserted that Hungary is no longer alone in its fight against what he portrays as European moral and political decay. The post underscores Orban’s alignment with President Donald Trump’s “America First” foreign policy shift and deepens the rift between Budapest and many EU partners, who view both his rhetoric and the new U.S. strategy as hostile to the European project.

In March 2024, Trump hosted Orban at his Mar-a-Lago estate, where he praised the Hungarian leader: “There’s nobody that’s better, smarter, or a better leader than Viktor Orban. He’s fantastic.”