Leaders Of Hungary And Slovenia, Stout Trump Allies In EU, Say U.S. Vote Isn’t Over

Enlarge this image


Viktor Orbán, Hungary’s prime minister, did not join other European leaders in congratulating Joe Biden for his narrow defeat of President Trump. Orban and Trump are seen here meeting at the White House last year.





Chris Kleponis/Pool via Bloomberg / Getty Images



hide caption



toggle caption


Chris Kleponis/Pool via Bloomberg / Getty Images




Viktor Orbán, Hungary’s prime minister, did not join other European leaders in congratulating Joe Biden for his narrow defeat of President Trump. Orban and Trump are seen here meeting at the White House last year.


Chris Kleponis/Pool via Bloomberg / Getty Images

Most European leaders are congratulating Joe Biden Saturday for winning the U.S. presidency. Not Janez Jansa, prime minister of Slovenia, the alpine country in Eastern Europe where Melania Trump was born and raised.

Instead, Jansa attacked the media. He tweeted that the «#MSM (and not some official body) announced the winner. Jansa noted that «complaints have been filed and said «the courts have not even begun to decide.

President Trump’s lawyers have filed legal challenges in several states where Biden edged out Trump. Some have been thrown out and others are pending.

Jansa, an anti-immigrant conservative, is one of the MAGA-style populists in Europe who endorsed President Trump before the election. Jansa even cheered Trump on when the president prematurely declared victory long before the vote counting had finished.

Another Trump ally, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, also did not congratulate Biden on Saturday. Origo, a pro-government news site controlled by Orban’s allies, instead flashed a headline declaring «chaos in America and pointing out that «big media declared Biden the victor.

Welcome to the wonderful world of #Hungarian pro-government propaganda media:

“Total Chaos in America: several big media outlets say Joe Biden has won, but Donald Trump wrote on Twitter that he won” (Origo)SAelection2020 #Hungary pic.twitter.com/tho7Ylsmbm

— Viktória Serdült (@viktoriaserdult) November 7, 2020

Orban, the first EU leader to back Trump in 2016, called Trump a friend and predicted he would win reelection. Orban has accused the Democrats of «moral imperialism, and his government has recycled Trump attacks on Hunter Biden.

Biden got a shout-out from at least one Hungarian leader: Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony said he hopes the new American leadership will help uphold democratic values.

«Trump was good for the Orban government, Karacsony wrote on his Facebook page. «President Biden will be good for Hungary.

Orban’s main partner in the EU, Polish President Andrzej Duda — a Trump ally who narrowly won re-election this year — also acknowledged Biden’s victory.

Duda applauded Biden «for a successful presidential campaign and tweeted, «Poland is determined to upkeep high-level and high-quality PL-US strategic partnership for an even stronger alliance.