He wore the same dark suit, white shirt and simple tie, albeit orange rather than Trump’s signature red. He gave the same thumbs up as Trump did as they posed for pictures.
But whatever reception he received from the CPAC audience in Dallas, the situation at home is showing cracks.
Orban has since said he is neither a racist nor an anti-Semite, but his talk of racial purity has caused alarm in his capital, Budapest, where Jews were persecuted and killed during World War II.
Rabbi Robert Frolich of the city’s historic synagogue on Dohany Street said Orban’s words were too close to the truth, especially for older members of his congregation.
“Most of them were Holocaust survivors,” he told CNN. “They are worried. They’ve heard it before and it didn’t end well.”
His economic policies have won him support, but as inflation rises, the situation is beginning to change, according to economist Zoltan Pogaz.
“In the long run, yes, I think Orban will remain popular, but at this particular point in time, I think more people are skeptical of him than ever before,” he said.
In the central market of Budapest, opinions differ.
David Horvath, a juice seller, says: “Honestly, Viktor Orban is not even liked in our country.”
But the butcher Margaretta Krajnik disagrees. “Viktor Orban does everything for his people,” she says. “He loves his people.”
Sir, this is a separate decision. In Dallas, the reception of American conservatives may be more boisterous.
