Hungary summoned the US ambassador over comments by the US president, Joe Biden, who said the prime minister, Viktor Orbán, wants a dictatorship.
The Hungarian leader traveled to Florida on Friday for talks with Donald Trump during a visit in which he did not meet with anyone from the Biden administration.
During a campaign event in Philadelphia, Biden referred to his rival’s meeting with the Hungarian politician: “You know who he’s meeting with today down at Mar-a-Lago? Orbán of Hungary, who stated flatly he doesn’t think democracy works, he’s looking for dictatorship.”
Rights groups and European capitals have repeatedly raised concerns that Orbán and his Fidesz party have undermined checks and balances in Hungary. In 2014, Orbán memorably announced that he was building an “illiberal” state.
And Hungary’s western allies have also grown increasingly worried about Hungary’s ties with Moscow and Beijing, while relations with Washington have reached a low point.
But Biden’s comments have met with outrage from Hungarian officials.
Péter Szijjártó, Hungary’s foreign minister, dismissed the American president’s words as “lies”.
In a press conference on Tuesday, he said the American ambassador in Budapest, David Pressman, had been summoned and met with a senior Hungarian official earlier in the day.
“We asked the ambassador to show us the quote, with location and time,” Szijjártó said, denying that Orbán ever said what Biden described. “This is a very serious insult.”
Szijjártó continued: “We are not required to take such lies from anyone, even if that person is the president of the United States.”
In a statement, a spokesperson for the US embassy in Budapest said: “We can confirm that Ambassador Pressman was ‘summoned’ for an ‘urgent’ meeting by the ministry of foreign affairs this morning with respect to statements made by the president of the United States about Hungary. Ambassador Pressman always welcomes the opportunity to discuss the state of Hungary’s democracy with our ally.”
Orbán’s meeting with Trump had raised eyebrows in both Budapest and Washington, amid fears that the Hungarian leader could be raising Kremlin talking points in conversations with conservative American figures.
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After the meeting, Trump praised the Hungarian leader in a social media post.
“Viktor is a Great Leader, respected all over the World. Hungary is a Safe Country because of his Strong Immigration Policies, and as long as he is in charge, it always will be!” he wrote.
Orbán also lauded Trump – in particular when it comes to Ukraine policy.
In an interview with Hungarian state-controlled media after the visit, the prime minister called Trump “a man of peace”.
“He won’t give a penny to the Ukrainian-Russian war. This is why the war will end, because it’s obvious that Ukraine cannot stand on its own two feet,” Orbán said.
Asked what would happen if Biden wins the election, Orbán quipped: “That would be bad.”