After U.S. Vice President JD Vance arrived in Budapest and spoke at a campaign rally for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, praising the controversial leader (“I love Viktor”) who is currently running for re-election, Orbán’s main challenger Magyar Péter, a member of the European Parliament, responded by video.
[NOTE: Hungary is a member of both the EU and NATO.]
In the video below (English translation provided by Alex Taylor), Péter said: “Hungarian history is not written in Washington, not in Brussels, not in Kyiv, not in Moscow and not in Serbia, but in Hungary. Hungarian history is written by Hungarian people.”
[NOTE: According to the Wilson Center, Orbán’s “increasingly authoritarian policies, along with what the opposition charges is massive corruption, have led to persistent structural problems for Hungary, including high inflation, a weak currency, deteriorating public services, and over-dependence on foreign investment and imported energy, especially from Russia.”]
A truly statesmanlike response to Vance from Hungary’s probable next PM @magyarpeterMP
“Hungarian history isn’t written in Washington or Moscow but by Hungarians, in our villages & towns. We decide our own fate. We want a humane Hungary in the heart of Europe”
My Eng s/tpic.twitter.com/Li6NkyR5Ch
— Alex Taylor (@AlexTaylorNews) April 8, 2026
Péter added: “I must insist that all international politicians from Ukraine to Serbia, from Russia to America, refrain from intervening in the Hungarian elections. We are not an experimental zone. We are not a geopolitical playground. This is our country here, the fate of which will be decided by Hungarian citizens.”
He addressed Vance: “To the American Vice President here in Hungary, I say respectfully, that if you are already campaigning for Viktor Orbán, do not make Hungarians pay the price.”
Standing with Orbán, Vance — mentioning no other nations — suggested that Ukraine, in opposition to Orbán, is interfering with the upcoming Hungarian election, which will be held on Sunday, April 12.
Despite widespread suspicion of interference, Péter predicted that “the Hungarian regime change will be decided by the Hungarian people” on election day.