Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban and his very large team of ministers, propagandists and members of the country’s well-connected economic elite flew to Washington on November 7 to meet President Donald Trump, the first bilateral meeting of the two leaders since his return to power. The trip itself was unprecedented in its scale and unusual because of its historical context. A veritable spectacle.

Trump has been pressuring Orban to align with his sanctions on Russian fossil fuels and purchase more American LNG. Trump’s hardening stance towards Russia was a blow to Orban, who has positioned himself as Trump’s closest ally in Europe, ostracised by Western liberals yet on good terms with Moscow and Washington. Initially, his gambit seemed to pay off, as Trump sought a quick end to the wa

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