Speaking to journalists mid-flight, the prime minister declared, “President Trump stood up for Hungary, this hasn’t happened in a long time.” With this, he marked what he called the most successful American visit of his career, sealing Hungary’s exemption from U.S. energy sanctions and signaling a broader strategic shift.
The central outcome of the talks was that Hungary received a full and indefinite exemption from U.S. sanctions on energy imports through the TurkStream and Druzhba pipelines. Without this, Hungarian families would have faced energy bills two to three times higher. “We were neck-deep in water,” Prime Minister Orbán said, warning that Hungary’s entire utility price-cut system was on the verge of collapse. Thanks to the new agreement, he confirmed, Hungary will continue to enjoy the lowest energy prices in Europe.
But beyond the technical details, Prime Minister Orbán pointed to a much deeper transformation. “We are now under an American protective shield,” he said, explaining that Hungary has regained international backing just as it was being targeted by Brussels. With the United States now defending Hungary’s interests, the prime minister said the Brussels instruments have been blunted and it is no longer worth them trying.
He emphasized that such support would have been impossible under the previous U.S. administration. “What happened now could only have happened with Trump,” he said, noting that while the exemption was legally decided by the U.S. Treasury, it was President Trump who personally authorized and pushed for it. “He didn’t just permit it, he stood up for us.”
The prime minister described the current U.S. political shift as more than just a change of leadership. “Things are now moving tornado-like, there is a civilizational-scale transformation taking place in America,” he said. According to Prime Minister Orbán, the return of a conservative, sovereignty-based worldview to the U.S. government has opened the door for Hungary to step back into its role as a key regional actor, now with the backing of the world’s leading power.
Prime Minister Orbán also touched on the broader geopolitical alignment now forming between Washington and Budapest. On migration, family policy, energy, and war, he said Hungary and the U.S. are once again on the same page. He particularly praised President Trump’s peace-first approach to Ukraine, saying it stood in stark contrast to the illusion in Brussels that the war can be won militarily.
The prime minister also addressed the broader meaning of the U.S. visit. He said it served as a demonstration that Hungary can stand on its own two feet diplomatically. “They wanted to isolate us, to push us to the margins,” he said, referring to criticism from Brussels and Western allies. “Well, this trip showed we’re not isolated at all. We’re not on the margins, we’re at the center.”