Carlos Barria/Reuters
- Trump appeared to mix up two different countries while talking about Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
- After saying Orbán is Turkey's leader, he also suggested Hungary shares a border with Russia.
- Neither country does. Trump later correctly said Orbán is Hungary's leader.
Former President Donald Trump mistakenly referred to Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán as "the leader of Turkey" during a rambling speech.
Trump made the gaffe at a rally in Derry, New Hampshire, on Monday. Turkey's president is Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
"Viktor Orbán, did anyone ever hear of him, he is probably one of the strongest leaders anywhere in the world. He is the leader of Turkey," said Trump, adding that Orbán shares a "front" with Russia. Neither Turkey nor Hungary has a land border with Russia, although both Turkey and Russia have coasts on the Black Sea.
After breaking off to address members of the audience, Trump returned to the topic and got the country right the second time: "But Victor Orbán, he's the head of Hungary and he runs a tough, let me tell you, he runs it properly, he runs it strong, with crime and with everything else he runs it strong and he doesn't let terrorists into his country."
X user @Acyn captured part of the speech:
Trump: I was very honored, there’s a man, Viktor Orbán. He’s the leader of Turkey pic.twitter.com/h3vrIESVrF
— Acyn (@Acyn) October 23, 2023
Trump went on to say that the strongman leader recommended President Joe Biden "resign and let Trump become president."
Orbán's rightwing populist ruling party, Fidesz, was described as the main driver in a degradation of the country's judiciary, press, and other independent institutions in a 2023 report by the US nonprofit think tank Freedom House.
Trump and Orbán have long shown mutual admiration. The Hungarian leader endorsed Trump in 2020, a favor Trump returned for elections in Hungary in 2022.
It's an affection that has flourished among hard-right conservatives. Orbán shot to greater public attention in the US with a week-long special produced by then-Fox News host Tucker Carlson in 2021. Later, he was a guest speaker at 2022's influential Conservative Political Action (CPAC) conference.