Trump said that he liked and respected Orbán, who was leading Hungary well, and believed that he would be successful in the next election, and the prime minister could count on his support. He added that everyone in Europe respected the prime minister.

European countries had made serious mistakes on migration, he said, adding that Orbán, on the other hand, had a “very strict approach” to migration and the other European states could learn from him.

He said that Hungary was doing a very good job in the field of immigration, as evidenced by its low crime rate, while crime was on the rise in other countries.

He said many European leaders “don’t agree with him, but actually inwardly they probably agree with him”. Trump objected to Europe “trying to force” its policies on the Hungarian government, while the prime minister, he added, was “right”. Trump said they were “wrong” because they were flooding Europe with migrants.

He said he was telling European leaders: “You better stop or you’re not gonna have Europe anymore.” He said not only must the influx of migrants be stopped, but it must also be reversed.

Meanwhile, Trump said the war between Russia and Ukraine would not have happened if he had been president at the time, but he had “inherited” the conflict, which he believed would be ended “in the not too distant future”.

He reaffirmed that he would like to hold a peace summit in Budapest, but added that currently “I did not want to do that meeting because I didn’t think anything was gonna be happening of significance. But if we have it, I’d like to do it in Budapest.”

He said that both sides were suffering significant losses, with thousands dying in the war every week.

Trump also said that he believed Orbán “knows Putin well and understands him perfectly.”

On the topic of energy, Trump said they were reviewing Hungary’s situation because they were aware that for Hungary it was not easy to buy oil and gas. He reminded everyone that Hungary does not have a seaport.

The president added that several European countries had been buying oil and gas from Russia for years, while they were getting help from the United States, which he called “very disturbing”.

Trump praised Hungary’s relations with the U.S., saying: “Hungary is a big country economically.”

He added that since he became U.S. president again, relations between the two countries were exemplary.

Under the previous government, however, there were “no relations” between the United States and Hungary, despite the fact that there was billions of dollars worth of trade between the two countries.