WASHINGTON, Sept 12, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is certainly no poster child for democracy in Europe and most Americans have never heard of him, but he does have at least one fan in the United States: Donald Trump.

Trump cited the authoritarian nationalist Orban as a character witness during the former US president's televised debate Tuesday with Vice President Kamala Harris.

While Harris told Trump to his face that he is the laughing stock of world leaders, Trump hit back and cited Orban's support for him.

"Let me just say about world leaders, Viktor Orban, one of the most respected men," Trump said.

"They call him a strongman," the Republican added. "He's a tough person, smart, prime minister of Hungary. They said, why is the whole world blowing up? Three years ago it wasn't. Why is it blowing up? He said, because you need Trump back as president."

This was not the first time Trump has praised Orban and the support he gets from the Hungarian leader.

They are strikingly similar men, both fancying themselves tough on immigration, for instance.

The United States and other Western countries have repeatedly slammed Orban's record on freedom of expression and religion, and on human rights, particularly those of LGBT people.

Very few world leaders are openly pro-Trump and many European officials have said publicly they dread a second Trump term in the White House.

When Trump survived an assassination attempt on July 13 during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, Orban was among the first leaders to call and wish him well.

- 'Flattery and favors' -

Trump and Orban are so snugly in sync that the slogan of Hungary's current six-month presidency of the European Union is "Make Europe Great Again," a play on Trump's MAGA jingle for America.

The two are clearly fond of one another and have been meeting more and more.

Their last encounter was on the sidelines of a NATO summit in July, when Orban traveled to see Trump at his Mar-a-Lago luxury estate in Florida. Orban went there in March, too.

The July visit came at the end of an Orban trip to Kyiv, Moscow and China, a mission aimed at finding a way to end the war in Ukraine. It included a meeting with President Vladimir Putin, who is accused of war crimes stemming from the 2022 invasion that started the war.

This meeting infuriated European leaders who accused Orban of conducting rogue diplomacy, ignoring EU policy.

Orban is close to Russia, and is a critic of Western sanctions against it and of aid to Ukraine.
He opposes Ukraine's desire to join the European Union.

Trump has said that if he is reelected he can end the war in a day.

During Tuesday's debate, Harris attacked what she called Trump's bloated ego. "It is absolutely well known that these dictators and autocrats are rooting for you to be president again because they're so clear, they can manipulate you with flattery and favors," she said.