US Election 2020: Hungary's Orban, Brazil's Bolsonaro bet on four more years of Trump

With the US presidential election just around the corner, conservative politicians around the globe are throwing their support firmly behind Donald Trump. From Hungary’s far-right Prime Minister Viktor Orban to Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, several nationalist leaders are hoping for Trump to remain in power for another four years.

According to The Guardian, some surveys have suggested that a majority of the global population disapproves of the Republican leader, however, conservative leaders are rooting for the US President as there may be concrete policy benefits for them in Trump's second term. 

While Orban said that he is "rooting for another victory for Donald Trump", Bolsonaro has been pictured in a Trump 2020 campaign hat. Orban, who has positioned himself as Europe’s leading proponent of ‘illiberal democracy’, had said that he is familiar with the foreign policy of US Democratic administration, built as it is on "moral imperialism". He added that he tasted it, didn’t like it, and doesn’t want a second helping. 

Just like Trump’s ‘America First’ rhetoric, Orban has also frequently spoken about ‘Hungary First’ policies. Besides, the Hungarian leader's government has also repeatedly accused critical media outlets of peddling ‘fake news’, a term popularised by Trump. 

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Conservative leaders rooting for Trump’s victory  

According to a recent European poll, no more than 20 percent of respondents in each of the seven countries surveyed wanted Trump to win. However, among some central European government and several far-right parties, there is an admiration for Trump. US President’s biggest European supporters are believed to be in Warsaw, where the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party has pushed an agenda based on ‘family values’ that has involved a sustained anti-LGBTQ campaign. 

Back in June, a PiS ally, Andrew Duda, had travelled to Washington for an endorsement from Trump. In August, the PiS MEP Dominik Tarczynski compared the US President to John Paul II, the Polish pope. Slovakian Prime Minister Janez Jansa is another Trump admirer in Europe. After the Trump-Biden presidential debate, Jansa had said that Trump had ‘won big’. 

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As per reports, Spain’s Vox party and the popular Brothers of Italy have also spoken of Trump and his strategy as a direct inspiration. Spanish leader Ivan Espinosa de Los Monteros, who is Vox’s parliamentary spokesman and deputy secretary for international affairs, had said that a Trump loss would be ‘bad news’. In addition, Matteo Salvini, the leader of Italy’s far-right League, has also declared his endorsement by wearing a ‘Trump 2020’ face mask during a protest outside a tax office in Rome. 

Trump’s biggest fan among world leaders is, however, Bolsonaro. The Brazilian leader has frequently posted photos of him with Trump on social media. His politician son, Eduardo, has even called for the US president to be given the Nobel peace prize. It is believed that Bolsonaro seeks inspiration and domestic legitimacy from his North American counterpart. 

(Image Credits: AP) 

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