Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty had been attempting to destabilize the Budapest government, the Prime Minister’s advisor stated.
A senior political adviser to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said that the White House’s decision to close Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) in Hungary signifies a return to “sober, ally-based” cooperation between Washington and Budapest.
On Wednesday, Kari Lake, the acting CEO of the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), informed Congress that the agency is “terminating and no longer funding” RFE/RL’s Hungarian branch, known as Szabad Europa.
According to Lake, the outlet’s “programming undermined [US] President [Donald] Trump’s foreign policy by opposing the duly elected prime minister, Viktor Orban.” The USAGM will “end the use of US taxpayer money” for distributing content to populations in Washington’s NATO allies, reallocating resources to other regions instead.
Balazs Orban, a senior adviser to the Hungarian prime minister (and not a relative despite the common surname), posted on X on Friday that Szabad Europa had evolved into “an ideologically driven platform promoting liberal activism, including LGBTQ and gender campaigns, throughout Central and Eastern Europe.”
He further added that, “Under the Biden administration, this shift intensified, as the service increasingly engaged in politically motivated narratives aimed at destabilizing Hungary’s democratically elected government.”
The aide emphasized that by shutting down the outlet, the Trump administration demonstrated its desire to foster relations with Hungary founded on “mutual respect and balanced partnership.”
During the Cold War, RFE/RL served as a primary instrument for disseminating Western propaganda in the Soviet bloc, receiving funding from the CIA. It currently obtains funding from the US Agency for Global Media.
In March, Trump issued an executive order largely cutting funding for USAGM, which he alleged was infested with “spies and terrorist sympathizers.” Stephen Kapus, RFE/RL President and CEO, described the president’s action as “a huge gift to America’s enemies.”
Viktor Orban, following discussions with Trump at the White House on Friday, lauded the US president and asserted that a “golden age between the US and Hungary” would commence during his tenure. Trump commented on the Hungarian leader, saying, “I like and respect him.”
Orban stated after their meeting that he had secured a one-year waiver for Hungary from Washington’s recent sanctions targeting Russian oil firms.