PM Orban: America Provides a Financial Shield for Hungary + Video

“I shook hands with the U.S. president to confirm that Hungary’s exemption from sanctions is without time limit,” the prime minister said. Speaking to journalists aboard the plane on his way home from Washington, Viktor Orban confirmed that Hungary’s exemption from sanctions is indeed without any time limit.

In this photo released by the PM's Press Office, U.S. President Donald Trump (r) welcomes PM Viktor Orban at the White House in Washington on November 7, 2025. (Photo: MTI / PM's Press Office / Akos Kaiser

Mr. Orban stated: “I made an agreement with the president. He said 'We are exempting you from American sanctions without any time limit,’ referring to measures that would have affected the TurkStream pipeline and the Friendship oil pipeline. So, these are off the table.”

Donald Trump and Viktor Orban. Photo: Prime Minister’s Press Office / Akos Kaiser

PM Orban emphasized: 

With a cautious estimate, we have saved Hungarians from paying 1,000 forints per liter for gasoline. Moreover, when the heating season begins, gas bills would have been two and a half to three times higher without this agreement. We spared Hungarians from such a disaster.

PM Orban underlined: 

We did not bring this trouble upon ourselves — this was caused by the war. I always say that the war is blocking the European economy through high energy prices and sanctions,

 – he said, adding: 

If energy prices had reached that level, how could we have remained competitive? The consequences for jobs, factories, and businesses would have been incalculable. We have saved Hungarians from great trouble. But this is the nature of our profession — when lightning strikes, you need to find a lightning rod. Yesterday, that lightning rod worked.

Reflecting on his meeting with Donald Trump, PM Orban said that “when negotiating with the American President, you have to avoid technical traps, which is not easy to do with a European mindset — you must approach the details from the big picture, not the other way around.”

In the U.S. governmental system, the president makes decisions in terms of large contexts and entrusts the details to his ministers. If, in a meeting, you can explain in one sentence why a key issue is important and to what extent, he immediately grasps it, understands it, and tells you how deeply he wants to go into the details,

– Mr. Orban said. Speaking about Donald Trump, he added:

Anyone who can make it through the barbed-wire obstacle course of an American presidential race — not once, but twice — is the best guarantee in America's political system that a leader without ability cannot come to power in the U.S. Whoever wins that race twice in a row can be entrusted with America’s fate.

He added that there was never any question that Donald Trump would make a good president — “not the first time, and certainly not now.” In fact, Mr. Orban said, “America now has a great chance to have the best presidency in its history.” He also recalled that during his first term, Mr. Trump overcame numerous obstacles — “the deep state hindered every radical reform for four years; there were attempts on his life, accusations of conspiracy against the state, and efforts to strip him of his wealth.”

Mr. Orban attributed the current rapid pace of change to these experiences, saying that “things are now moving forward like a tornado — America is undergoing a transformation of civilizational scale."

As PM Orban put it:

They are turning back a world that had shifted toward progressive, liberal, globalist, and internationalist direction into one that wishes to restore patriotic, conservative, Christian, and traditional values. This is unprecedented in scale, and it will determine the future of the West for many decades.

 

PM Orban to Magyar Nemzet: The Battle Is for the Soul of the West

As we previously reported, in response to a question from Magyar Nemzet, PM Orban stressed that beyond the current discussions on Hungary–U.S. ties, “we are aware that above our level, a higher struggle is taking place — for the soul of the West.”

– “There is a civilizational-level struggle in the Western world today over what exactly we call the West. There has always been a great contest in Western politics—let’s say between the right, those who have remained within the Christian, national, Western tradition and build their political programs on that foundation, and those who have left or fallen out of that tradition: the left-wing progressive world, which also has its vision of the world and is globalist, building its own power structures. This struggle has been, and is still going on for 150 years in Europe,” Mr. Orban told Magyar Nemzet.

The liberal-globalist progressive side has moved so far toward extremes that it has come up with absurd social-engineering ideas — especially concerning LGBTQ issues and families, migration, and open borders — that have pushed Western civilization to the brink. Through migration, demographic decline, and deteriorating public safety, they have endangered everything. It is now our duty — those political forces that have remained within the European, Western Christian tradition, let’s simply call them the right — to win this match and bring the world back within those boundaries. So this is what's at stake,

– the prime minister emphasized, adding:

My plan is for Hungary to understand that this struggle is happening — and that it concerns our very survival. Hungary must understand it in time, because if a small country reacts too late, it’s finished. To adapt and prepare for such change, we must comprehend the civilizational struggle in its deepest connections. I’m working so that every Hungarian understands this. Then we must find answers to these civilizational challenges: migration, security, family, demographics, education — what we teach our children — adaptation to modern technology, internationalism versus patriotism, and the question of sovereignty.

 

"Good Morning, Brussels!”

Orbán Viktor arról beszélt lapunknak: a terve az, hogy Magyarország pontosan ismerje az érdekeit, a helyzetét, és megfelelő döntéseket hozzon.

Mr. Orban told the paper that his plan is for Hungary to know precisely its interests, its situation, and to make the right decisions accordingly.

My plan is for Hungary to take part in this great international swirl with a clear understanding of our interests and situation, and to make the right moves ahead of everyone else. That’s what I’ve been doing since 2010 — from migration to constitutional reform, economic restructuring, and family support. This is not intellectual entertainment, nor about trying to be smarter than everyone else — although that’s also a goal — but a matter of survival for the Hungarian people. If you fail to grasp the connections in time, you’ll be in trouble. That’s the first thing,

– the prime minister said, adding:

Since there are opponents on the field — something we haven’t said before — yesterday I also signed an agreement with the American president on a U.S. financial shield.

He added:

If Hungary were to face any external attack—against its financial system, for example—the Americans have given their word that they would protect Hungary’s financial stability. This is very important. In the event of any external, speculative, or politically motivated attack, we can count on an American financial shield. That’s how I’m planning for the future. Good morning, Brussels!

The "Friendship Remains"

In response to a question, PM Orban also spoke about his relationship with Donald Trump, saying that given their history, the Hungarian delegation could confidently expect a cordial welcome.

There have been accidents in the past,

 – he said, referring to the Biden administration, “but we trusted that Donald Trump would return.”

Mr. Orban added that Hungary–U.S. relations carry no historic guilt or grave mistakes, even if there have been bitter moments — “for example, the Anglo-Saxon bombing of Budapest during World War II, or when the United States abandoned us in 1956.

– “But none of that caused such deep wounds that we would ever see each other as enemies,” said the prime minister, noting that among European leaders, there are few who have not at some point offended President Trump or spoken ill of him, sometimes out of malice.

But politics is made by people,

– he added. Describing his relationship with Donald Trump, Mr. Orban said that “in difficult moments, we have always told each other we can count on one another — the friendship remains.” As for the talks, the prime minister stressed: “I was confident that if I could present solutions to conflicts that are good for Hungarians and not bad for the Americans, then the Ppresident will agree.”

And he said yes to everything that isn't bad for America, but good for us,

– Viktor Orban said. 

 

There Will Be a Budapest Peace Summit

Mr. Orban said he had invited several people, and that the Budapest Peace Summit would be among such visits, adding that he believes it will indeed take place. When asked whether sharing a platform with the U.S. President lends credibility to Hungary’s pro-peace stance, he said:

I don’t know whether our position needs to be validated by anyone.

That should come from a deeper conviction — partly moral, partly based on Hungarian national interest. 

So for this reason, perhaps I wouldn’t be using that word. What’s certain is that it helps a lot,

– Mr. Orban said, emphasizing:

It’s very difficult for a country as small as ours to stand among twenty-seven nations and say: we are right, and you are wrong. Your strategy isn’t working — but ours would. That’s not easy. What helps me somewhat is that this has happened before—with migration. And now everyone knows the Hungarians were right. One against twenty-six can be right—there’s a precedent. But it’s still thin ice.

PM Orban added: 

Migration isn’t the only example showing we could be right on peace, too, from a strategic point of view. Perhaps what we say isn’t so foolish, since a world power — the leading force of the West, the United States — is saying the same thing. So maybe there’s some truth in the Hungarian position after all. That makes it much easier for me to represent it in Europe. I wouldn’t say it validates it, but it gives it weight, makes my job easier, and makes our stance more credible — perhaps that’s the right expression.

PM Orban also speculated that if Biden had won, “could Hungary have maintained its pro-peace position without becoming ridiculous, irrelevant, or collapsing into isolation? 

We can’t answer that with absolute certainty — but it’s quite possible we couldn’t have held out. So President Trump’s return to the pro-peace corner of the ring was like a resuscitation for Hungary,

– he said.

Cover photo: PM Viktor Orban and President Donald Trump (Photo: MTI)