Former President Donald J. Trump is the only man who can end the war in Ukraine and “save the Western world” from being plunged into World War III, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán told Tucker Carlson.
In an interview with Carlson in Budapest, Viktor Orbán said that his ideal solution to the war in Ukraine — a nation that borders his own — would be to bring about a peace settlement immediately, but he said that this would likely only be possible with Donald Trump back in the White House.
“Trump is the man who can save the Western world and probably all human beings on the globe,” the Hungarian leader told Tucker Carlson on his show on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“Call back Trump. That’s the only way out. Call back Trump,” Orbán continued, saying that the “best foreign policy of the recent several decades belonged to him,” noting that Trump did not start any new wars, sought peace deals in the Middle East, and that he engaged with Chinese, North Koreans, and the Russians with respect.
“He’s [Trump] criticized because he’s not educated enough to understand the world politics. This is not the case,” Orbán said. “Facts count and his foreign policy was the best form for the world in the last several decades I have seen.”
The Hungarian populist leader went on to say that he did not believe that if Trump had been president last year, the Russians would have launched their invasion of Ukraine.
“Trump is the man who can save the Western world and probably the human beings in the world as well,” Orbán proclaimed.
In remarks that will be controversial in some Western capitals, the populist leader went on during the interview with Carlson to criticise the prevailing strategy of the interventionist neo-liberal establishment, saying pushing for Ukraine to join NATO for peace in Europe appeared to be counter-productive.
Orbán, who grew up in Soviet-occupied Hungary and was an anti-communist campaigner in 1989, said that fundamentally Western leaders misunderstand the mindset of the Russian people and that it is a fantasy to think that the Russian people will turn on Vladimir Putin out of a desire for Western-style freedoms.
“To understand the Russians is a difficult thing, especially if you have an ocean between you and Russia. When we speak about politics as Westerners, the focus point is freedom, how to provide more and more freedom to the people. When you speak on politics in Russia, this is not the number one issue, the number one issue is how to keep together the country because it is very big.
“That has generated a different culture and understanding of politics, it has created a kind of military approach, always on security, on safety, buffer zones, geopolitical approaches. It’s not our culture, it’s legitimate to have that because it’s their history, but we have to understand that we cannot beat them as we do now, it’s impossible.”
“They will not kill their leader, they will never give up, and they will keep the country together,” he continued, saying that no matter how many weapons the West pours into Ukraine, Moscow will not surrender.
Orbán, who has been one of the lone voices in Europe to consistently call for peace negotiations to end the war, said that he felt that it is a “lie” being propagated in the West that Ukraine can somehow win the war against Russia, a country with nearly four times as many people.
When asked by Carlson if it was true that Ukraine is winning the war — as some in the West would claim — the prime minister said: “It’s a lie. It’s not just a misunderstanding. It’s a lie. It’s impossible.”
“The poor Ukrainians die every day, hundreds and thousands, my heart is with them, it’s a tragedy for Ukraine. But they will run out [soldiers earlier] than the Russians. What finally will count is boots on the ground and the Russians are far stronger, far more numerous.”
The comments from the Hungarian leader on the futility of the Western proxy war against Russia come as President Joe Biden announced another $250 million military aid package to Ukraine, mostly to be comprised of American weapons stockpiles. So far, the United States has committed to over $113 billion since the invasion last year.