During the presidential debate, Trump praises Viktor Orban as a strong European ally: Who is Viktor Orban?

During the presidential debate on Tuesday night, former President Trump highlighted his foreign policy achievements by mentioning the close ties he established with leaders of both rival nations and allies, particularly with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, known as the "strongman" of Europe.

"Trump stated that Orban is a smart and tough prime minister of Hungary, and that he insisted on Trump's return as president because they were afraid of him."

""China was afraid of him, as he stated that Russia was also afraid of him," Trump said."

Viktor Orban stated that Donald Trump is the most respected and feared person, and there were no issues during Trump's presidency.

Trump countered Vice President Harris' accusations that he admires dictators and wants to be one by stating that Russian President Putin had endorsed her and expressed hope that she would win because of the "incredible" things he had accomplished.

Putin would never have invaded Ukraine if Trump had been in office, as he knew Putin well.

Biden's actions on the XL pipeline led to a victory for Russia, as the "biggest pipeline in the world" now runs into Germany and Europe as a whole.

Trump frequently compared his foreign policy record with that of the Biden administration, including Harris, and highlighted his more interventionist approach, employing force as a deterrent against Iran and engaging with Putin and Kim Jong Un to maintain stability in unstable regions.

During the Trump administration, Trump and Orban had a friendly relationship, frequently appearing together with smiles and handshakes, in contrast to the more reserved interactions between Orban and Biden.

In the summer, Orban garnered attention when he left a NATO summit early to meet with Trump in Florida, coinciding with Biden's struggles with his fitness and re-election prospects. Orban aimed to resolve the Russia-Ukraine conflict, having previously met with Putin and Zelenskyy separately.

""President @realDonaldTrump has demonstrated his commitment to peace during his presidency, and he will continue to do so in the future," Orban wrote on his official social media account after the meeting."

"I was honored to visit President @realDonaldTrump at Mar-a-Lago today for peace mission 5.0. We discussed ways to achieve peace, and the good news is that he is committed to solving it!"

As part of a six-month rotational leadership scheme, Orban, who became the president of the European Union, joked that Hungary would "make Europe great again" and warned that "the next American president will not be the same president who is today."

According to the Financial Times, he said at the NATO dinner that leaders who believed Biden could win the upcoming election were like people on the Titanic playing violins as the ship sank.

In March, while in the U.S., Orban met with Trump instead of Biden in an attempt to establish foreign policy ties. Additionally, he spoke at a panel with the leader of the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank.