Hungary leader Orbán tells Trump to ‘keep on fighting’ ahead of arraignment

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on Monday urged former President Trump to “keep on fighting” ahead of his scheduled arraignment on Tuesday in New York City.

“Keep on fighting, Mr. President! We are with you, @realDonaldTrump,” Orbán wrote on Twitter, sharing an image of the two leaders shaking hands.

Trump was indicted by a New York grand jury in connection with hush money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels amid his 2016 campaign, making him the first U.S. president, current or former, to be indicted on criminal charges. 

Trump, now , is set to appear in court on Tuesday for. 

Trump, who is the GOP’s leading 2024 presidential candidate, insists the Manhattan prosecutor’s case is politically motivated, an accusation echoed by many in the Republican party. Democrats have generally hailed the indictment as evidence that nobody is “above the law.”

Orbán, who has eroded democratic freedoms during more than a decade in power, is a Trump ally celebrated by U.S. conservatives. He appeared at the Conservative Political Action Conference last summer to criticize the Biden administration and Brussels, the seat of the European Union, telling the audience that “we must take back the institutions in Washington and in Brussels.”

The Hungarian leader has also cast himself as a defender of traditional values, blasting “LGBT ideology” and illegal immigration.

The Hungarian prime minister has also argued that Trump offers “the hope for peace” in Russia’s war on Ukraine. Trump, too, has suggested he has the solution for the conflict, now in its 14th month, but has not divulged details on what that might look like.  

Trump hosted Orbán at the White House during his term as president, and the two met up last year. Trump endorsed in his reelection bid last year.