embrace of culture wars has long since soured his standing among
other leaders in Europe, But what isolates him among his European
colleagues has endeared him to the American, right. Laura Barone
Lopez has more
Ladies and gentlemen, this is Texas.
Republicans are doubling down on their love affair with Viktor Orban,
long known for his anti immigration policies. In a recent xenophobic
speech, Orban likened migrants to a flood being forced upon Hungary
and decried a mixed race society. Still, Orban was welcomed with
open arms by Republican leaders.
Video produced by his staff.
Orban trek to Bedminster, New Jersey, where he met face to face with
former President Donald Trump.
We love hungry ladies and gentlemen, and in Dallas, Texas at the
conservative Political Action Conference, known as CPAC,
or Bonds
received keynote treatment
West is at war with itself painted Hungary and white Christian Americans
as allies in the struggle against a progressive global order.
I am here to tell you
That our values the nation
Christian roots.
And family.
Can be successful in the political battlefield. We made these values
successful.
And the mainstream in Hungary. Don't worry.
Christian politician cannot be racist and went on to provide counsel
on how best to achieve that vision of America in order to win.
It is not enough to know what you are fighting for.
You also have to know.
How you should fight.
My answer is
Play by your own rules. But this week's reunion was not the beginning
of the rights fascination with Orban before Republicans launched
today's culture war in the US, Orban did it first and has been lauded
by conservative media figures like Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
He believes countries need borders.
For saying these things out loud. Orban has been vilified.
Kim Lane Shepley constitutional scholar at Princeton, explains the
bond between Republicans and Orban goes back years. Bones election
campaigns in 2010 and 2014 were run by American Republican Party
Electoral electoral consultants.
Orban's white nationalist ideology has isolated him from other European
Union leaders, and he's include sanctions from the European Union.
He's adopted anti immigration policies and has campaigned against
the LGBTQ community
decided we don't need more genders. We need more Rangers.
Let's drag queens and more choc Norris.
Over the last 12 years, Orban successfully transformed Hungary's
democracy into an autocracy.
Experts and autocratic governments warned that Orban is giving Republicans
a blueprint to replicate
describes Orban as a legalistic autocrat, someone who dismantles
the law to achieve their constitutional aims. When you see that Orban
wins these overwhelming election majorities, it turns out that actually
only about a third of that is enthusiastic support for him.
And the rest of it are various smoke and mirror tricks that he has
put in place. Pliant Parliament's gerrymandering and packed courts
was a big piece of why Orban was able to rig the rules and win every
election since, and now we see those tactics coming here. Trump's
multipronged attempt to overturn the 2020 election results failed.
But Shepley said a case being considered by the Supreme Court on
what's known as the independent state Legislature theory could provide
the pathway for Trump or
Republicans to copy or bonds, consolidation of power.
Embraced by justices. The theory would allow state legislatures,
not states as a whole to shape the rules for federal elections. The
Republicans could just get out of the way the local governors and
the local courts they would really have a shot at designing the rules
for the federal elections and therefore winning, so the independent
state legislature theory would be the constitutional confirmation.
That that particular plan has succeeded.
As of this year, Republicans control 30 state legislatures to Democrats
17.
This midterm election cycle. Many Republican candidates have spread
lies that Trump won in 2020 and that American elections are rigged.
And they're running for office. Is that directly oversee election
laws? Very easy to sort of, say, Well, this is just a political disagreement.
But actually it's democracy dying right in front of us through free
and fair elections that bring to power of a leader with autocratic
tendencies, who then uses the power of the state and the power of
lawmaking to undermine democratic institutions. Last year, global
watchdog listed the United States as a backsliding democracy for
the first time.
This fall will be the first test of whether Orban's vision starts
to become an American reality.