MSNBC White House correspondent Laura Barrón-López and former Obama Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Joel Rubin suggested that President Trump and the Republican Party might copy conservatives in Hungary in an attempt to destroy political opposition during their Friday appearance on Ana Cabrera Reports. This came in anticipation of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s visit at the White House scheduled for later that day.
Barrón-López believed Trump had a friendly relationship with Orbán because he “admires and respects” Orbán’s political actions, including:
… the playbook he's used to essentially take control of the judiciary in Hungary, to consolidate his power in a way that makes it easier for him to win reelection without really any challengers. And so, the Republicans have been pretty open about this in terms of looking at Hungary as a potential playbook. And when you talk to authoritarian experts, they will say that this is an element of autocratic capture, which is to try to consolidate power, and the President has looked at that.
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. steve malzberg
