Vance arrives in Hungary days before election, hoping to boost Orban’s campaign

Ally of Donald Trump, Prime Minister Viktor Orban, is trailing in the polls

The US vice president, centre right, and his wife Usha, centre left, were greeted at the airport in Budapest by Hungarian foreign minister Peter Szijjarto, right (Jonathan Ernst/Pool Photo via AP)

US Vice President JD Vance arrived in Hungary’s capital on Tuesday in a bid to turn the tide of an election campaign where long-serving Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a close ally of US President Donald Trump, is trailing in the polls.

Mr Vance’s two-day trip, where he is scheduled to hold an official visit with Mr Orban and later appear at one of his campaign rallies, was the clearest sign yet that the Trump administration was going all-in for an Orban victory when Hungarians go to the polls on Sunday.