The Hill
Orbán says Trump won’t give ‘a penny’ to Ukraine after Mar-a-Lago meeting
Brad Dress – March 11, 2024
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said former President Trump would not give “a penny” to support Ukraine in its war against Russia after the two met at Trump’s Florida estate Mar-a-Lago last week.
Orbán told Hungarian news channel M1 that Trump wants peace in the Russian war against Ukraine, and the Hungarian leader said he backed his vision to achieve that.
“I don’t see any other person as determined and strong as Donald Trump,” Orbán told M1, saying Trump “will not give a single penny to the Ukrainian-Russian war, therefore the war will end.”
Trump has yet to publicly comment on the claims. In a Truth Social post, the former president praised Orbán for the meeting.
“Viktor is a Great Leader, respected all over the World,” Trump wrote.
Trump has repeatedly criticized spending on Ukraine, part of growing skepticism in the Republican Party. More conservative lawmakers in Congress have blocked Ukraine aid for more than a year.
Trump has said he would end the war between Russia and Ukraine in 24 hours, though he has remained ambiguous on how that would be achieved, sparking concerns that he would cede Ukrainian territory taken by Russian forces in the war.
Orbán added in the interview with M1 that “Trump has detailed plans for how to end the war, and they coincide with Hungary’s interests.”
Trump has also made a number of controversial comments about Russia. Shortly after the war began in 2022, Trump called Russian President Vladimir Putin “savvy,” echoing his often warm remarks for the Russian leader during his time at the White House.
And this year, Trump said he would let Russia do “whatever the hell they want” to members of NATO that did not pay enough in defense spending.
Still, Trump, who has no major challenger left in the Republican primaries and is headed toward a general election rematch with President Biden, has not publicly said he would avoid giving money to Ukraine.
Orbán, a far-right leader who has also received criticism for his close relations with Putin, met Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Friday and Saturday in a high-stakes visit.
Biden slammed Trump for meeting with Orbán, who he criticized as a leader “looking for dictatorship.”
Hungary, a NATO member, has not provided any arms to Ukraine throughout the war. Orbán, who has frequently called for an end to the Ukraine war and met Putin in October, also said it would be “bad” if Biden were to win the election in November.