Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán Fights Back Against Trump’s Tariffs

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán put on a defiant face on a radio program this Friday.

Orbán claimed the “battle is not over yet,” telling listeners Budapest was crafting a way to “circumvent” recently imposed American sanctions on Russian oil and gas companies, Politico reports. (RELATED: ‘Call Back Trump’: Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán Praises Trump’s Foreign Policy In Interview With Tucker Carlson)

“There are indeed sanctions in place against certain Russian oil companies,” Orbán reportedly said. “I started the week by consulting with MOL executives several times, and we are working on how to circumvent these sanctions.” MOL Plc. is a Hungarian multinational oil and gas company based in Budapest. 

President Donald Trump announced “tremendous sanctions … against their two big oil companies” on Wednesday, referring to Russia’s Lukoil and Rosneft. 

🇺🇸🇭🇺 TRUMP BACKS ORBÁN: “WE LOVE VIKTOR – HE’S A GREAT LEADER”

“We have Hungary.

Oh, Viktor. Where is Viktor? We love Viktor… You are fantastic.

I know a lot of people don’t agree with me, but I’m the only one that matters. You are fantastic.

He’s a great leader. I… https://t.co/ILfuHnnvGY pic.twitter.com/qXVeMmQlZp

— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) October 13, 2025

Lukoil and Rosneft “account for around two-thirds of the 4.4 million barrels of crude Russia exports each day,” economist David Fyfe told Politico.

“We hope that [the tariffs] won’t be on for long, we hope that the war will be settled,” Trump added. 

“Now is the time to stop the killing and for an immediate ceasefire,” said Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent in a statement. “Given President Putin’s refusal to end this senseless war, Treasury is sanctioning Russia’s two largest oil companies that fund the Kremlin’s war machine. Treasury is prepared to take further action if necessary to support President Trump’s effort to end yet another war.”

Orbán has long stood out among his European peers for supporting Trump and rejecting mass migration. So much so that he earned the attention of former President Barack Obama, who implied Hungary is veering into autocracy under Orbán. 

‼️ The Left’s playbook hasn’t changed: deploy Soros-funded “experts” to deliver distant lectures and level vague, evidence-free accusations against a sovereign nation. It comes as no surprise that @BarackObama — a long-time advocate of globalist ideology & identity politics — is… https://t.co/4lLawgW8U6

— Balázs Orbán (@BalazsOrban_HU) October 12, 2025

Trump admitted Orbán is “probably like me” when the leaders met in the White House in 2019, according to Politico. 

“A little bit controversial, but that’s okay … You’ve done a good job, and you’ve kept your country safe.”

Trump noted that Orbán is a “tough man but he is a respected man” and that he’s “done the right thing according to many people on immigration. And you look at some of the problems that they have in Europe that are tremendous because they have done it a different way than the prime minister.” 

NOW – PM Viktor Orban: “you have been able… to keep Hungary, our country, as the only migrant-free country in Europe… you have been able to defy the entire snake nest in Brussels… you have been able to protect your families and drive the LGBTQ activists from your schools.” pic.twitter.com/tP4srdV5Ac

— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) October 23, 2025

Orbán has maintained a hardline stance against immigration, warning in a 2018 speech that “countries that don’t stop immigration will be lost,” The Guardian reported. (RELATED: ROOKE: Governments In Europe Fighting Over Who Has To Take In More Immigrants)

One only need look at Sweden for proof of Orbán’s contention. A Swedish court reportedly ruled that an Eritrean migrant convicted of raping a then-16-year-old girl would not be deported, because the rape “did not last long enough” to be considered an “exceptionally serious crime,” La Derecha Diario reports, quoting the Swedish court. 

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