WASHINGTON − President Donald Trump praised Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's hardline approach to immigration and said he likes and respects the autocrat who was at the White House to discuss a potential exemption from U.S. sanctions on Russian energy.

"I stick up for Viktor Orban. Not a lot of people do, because they're, in many cases they're jealous. They wish they did what he did. They would have no problems if they did what he did," Trump said at a Nov. 7 White House meeting.

Trump said he's told European leaders they can learn from Orban's approach. Orban is a hero in the MAGA movement and Trump's critics have compared his second-term agenda to the playbook the Hungarian leader has used consolidate power in his country.

Orban has fought with the European Union over its support for Ukraine and his crackdown on independent institutions, in addition to the issue of immigration.

Trump said he gets along well with European leaders, but when it comes to border controls he agrees with Orban. European nations have made "tremendous mistakes" when it comes to taking in foreign nationals, he said.

"I happen to think he was right, because their whole fabric has changed," Trump said. "I mean you go to some of the countries, they're unrecognizable now, because of what they've done. And Hungary is very recognizable."

Trump said the autocrat had done a "fantastic job" and was a "very powerful man within his country" who's "beloved" by people who know him.

“Hungary’s government is systematically dismantling the rule of law and suppressing dissent under the guise of protecting national sovereignty,” Iskra Kirova, Europe and Central Asia advocacy director at Human Rights Watch, wrote last month.

Orban said he was at the White House to "open a new chapter" and repair chilly relations. The Hungarian hard-liner spoke at the Conservative Political Action Conference in 2022 and attended the NATO summit in Washington in 2024 but was never received at the White House by former President Joe Biden.

Trump acknowledged that Orban is a controversial figure, as he hosted the leader who's taken steps to limit press freedom and political opposition.

"He's respected by everybody, he's liked by some," Trump said.

Trump said he was considering an exemption for Orban's government to the sanctions the United States has put on Russian energy companies and that the war with Ukraine would be a topic of their discussion. Hungary is one of the largest remaining importers of Russian oil and gas in Europe and has come under fierce criticism by backers of Ukraine for his relationship with Vladimir Putin.

The Hungarian capital had been expected to host Trump's next meeting with Putin until the summit was called off last month.

"That meeting, it turned out, I didn't want to do that meeting, because I didn't think anything would be happening of significance," Trump said. "But if we have it, I'd like to keep it in Budapest."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump says EU is 'jealous' of Hungarian PM Orban's immigration crackdown

Reporting by Francesca Chambers, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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