EU parliament declares that Hungary — beloved of Trump and Tucker Carlson — no longer counts as a democracy

Then-President Donald Trump with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in the Oval Office in May 2019 in Washington, DC.

Mark Wilson/Getty Images

• EU parliament members voted on Thursday to declare Hungary no longer a democracy.
• Hungary has grown increasingly authoritarian, inspiring many US conservatives.
• Donald Trump and Tucker Carlson have high praise for Hungary's far-right leader Viktor Orbán. 

EU lawmakers voted on Thursday to no longer view Hungary, a European country and an EU member state, as a democracy.

The resolution, which passed by 433 in favor and 123 against with 28 abstentions, said that Hungary was instead "a hybrid regime of electoral autocracy," the Associated Press reported.

Gwendoline Delbos-Corfield, a French member of the European Parliament, said "for the first time, an EU institution is stating the sad truth, that Hungary is no longer a democracy," the AP reported.

Hungary and its far-right Prime Minister Viktor Orbán have inspired many US conservatives with their crackdowns on liberal elements of society.

Two of its most prominent US fans are former President Donald Trump and Fox News host Tucker Carlson.

Trump called Orbán a "strong leader" in July, and said he was "respected by all." Trump endorsed Orbán when he campaigned for re-election in early 2022, returning a gesture Orbán made in endorsing Trump in 2020.

Carlson made a high-profile trip to Budapest, Hungary, in August 2021, moving his show there to promote Orban and his government. 

Carlson also then said during a dinner with Orbán's office that Hungry was a great place that the West could learn from, telling those present "You're truly hated by all the right people."

The EU parliament resolution Thursday expressed "deep concern about the deliberate and systematic efforts of the Hungarian Government to undermine the founding values" of the EU.

It said this included human rights rights like freedom of expression and academic and media independence.

It also expressed concern about what it said was government efforts to make the judiciary less independent and removing "constitutional checks and balances."

Orbán has pursued a hardline stance on immigration, and his government has increased state control over Hungary's media, judicial system, and academic institutions.

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