The fiery right-wing Hungarian leader said a victory for Donald Trump would help in his fight against immigration, multiculturalism and the restoration of traditional family values.
In Argentina, the president, who once embraced Trump at a political conference in Maryland, attacks his critics as rats and parasites, speaks out against what he calls a corrupt elite and describes climate change as a “socialist lie.”
A second Trump term could realign American diplomacy away from traditional international alliances and more toward populist and authoritarian politicians, according to these leaders and outside observers.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban
Two days before Tuesday’s election, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban made a bold prediction.
“Donald Trump will become president again, and this means that by the end of the year, pro-peace political forces will be the majority in the West,” Orban told state radio.
The European Union accused Orban of burying democracy in Hungary by controlling the media and building a network of loyal oligarchs. He has alarmed foreign leaders because of his closeness to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
What Orbán calls “illiberal democracy” has stigmatized civil society organizations and suppressed the rights of the LGBT community. It prefers to retain power even if it means conflicting with the interests of traditional Hungarian allies.
Russian President Vladimir Putin
Trump has avoided criticizing Putin in public and has consistently spoken warmly about him.
“There is clearly this kind of authoritarian-minded chemistry” between them, said Nigel Gould-Davies of the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London.
This chemistry is consistent with Trump’s admiration for other authoritarian leaders, some of whom were elected by once-democratic regimes, Gould-Davies said, pointing to Orban’s Hungary as an example.
Trump has claimed that he will end the Russian war in Ukraine “within 24 hours,” an assertion welcomed by the Kremlin, which currently holds a battlefield advantage as well as nearly 20 percent of Ukrainian territory.
Moscow may be hoping that Trump will sow dysfunction in NATO in light of his demands that other members of the alliance meet agreed-upon military spending levels, and his warnings that Russia can “do whatever it wants” to those who fail.
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Gould-Davies noted before the election that the Kremlin would welcome a Trump victory because of his apparent desire to end the war in Ukraine on terms favorable to Russia. Gould-Davies said Putin and other authoritarian leaders would be emboldened by Trump’s re-election, which would mean “far less emphasis in American foreign policy on the importance and value of human rights.”
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is one of his country’s most beloved and polarizing political leaders. Under Modi, Hindu nationalism – once a fringe ideology in India – has gone mainstream, and no one has done more to advance that cause than the 74-year-old leader.
Some critics believe that Modi’s policies have divided India, especially along religious lines. He has been accused of using hate speech against the country’s Muslim minority, especially in the final phase of this year’s election campaign when he intensified his rhetoric against them.
To his supporters, Modi is a political outsider who has trashed the country’s history of dynastic politics. His rise was fueled in part by his promises to reform the Indian economy, but also by Hindu-first policies that resonated widely in a country where 80% of the population is Hindu.
His critics say Modi has strained democracy and threatened India’s secular fabric, while his attacks on the media and freedom of expression have increased during more than a decade of his rule.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Like Trump, Erdogan projects an image of power that prioritizes national interests and relies on populist messages that present him as a champion of the common people against the elites.
The Biden administration has kept Erdogan’s government at a distance, but Trump and Erdogan have established a cordial relationship. This is despite a series of disagreements between the two countries, such as when the Trump administration removed Turkey from the F-35 fighter jet program in 2019 over Ankara’s purchase of a Russian-made missile defense system.
Javier Miley, President of Argentina
Argentina’s president has a brash style like Trump, berates multilateral institutions such as the United Nations, and has taken a contemptuous approach to diplomacy, disdaining meetings with the leaders of traditional allies such as Brazil and Spain.
For many observers, the most troubling similarity relates to Miley’s claims that last year’s presidential election in Argentina was rigged against him. This, along with his efforts to downplay the atrocities committed by Argentina’s bloody military dictatorship from 1976 to 1983, has raised concerns about his impact on democracy.
Miley congratulated Trump on his election victory on Wednesday by posting a photo on Instagram of the two men hugging in front of their countries’ flags.
“You know you can count on Argentina to carry out your mission,” the caption read. “Now, let’s make America great again.”
Analysts say his cash-strapped government – which desperately needs support from the United States, the IMF’s largest contributor – was betting on a Trump victory. The Miley administration is pinning its hopes on the idea that Trump might put pressure on the International Monetary Fund to lend more money to Argentina, its largest debtor.
The Fund is considering whether to lend Argentina more cash, which is what Miley’s libertarian government needs to fully re-enter the global market and exit currency controls. During Trump’s first term, the International Monetary Fund granted Argentina — then led by conservative President Mauricio Macri — a controversial $57 billion bailout.
Mariano Machado, principal analyst for the Americas at Verisk Maplecroft, a global risk intelligence firm, said that while American institutions and separation of powers are designed to prevent authoritarian rule, “Argentina is now returning to a phase where the standards of its very institutions are under pressure.”
Prime Minister of Slovakia Robert Fico
While Fico was left-wing, he used rhetoric similar to Trump’s.
Fico even compared Trump’s attempted assassination in July to his being wounded in a shooting in May.
“It’s a carbon copy scenario,” Fico said. “Donald Trump’s political opponents are trying to jail him, and when they don’t succeed, they incite the public to the point where some of the losers pick up a gun.”
Like Trump, Fico has shown disdain for the mainstream media and declared war on illegal immigration. Fico faces criminal charges for organized crime, which he denounced as politically motivated. The case was eventually dismissed.
The Slovak leader condemned the West’s approach to the war in Ukraine and canceled arms shipments to Kiev.
Fico, like Orban, is known for his pro-Russian views, opposes EU sanctions on Moscow, and has said he would prevent Ukraine from joining NATO.
Susan Fraser in Ankara, Türkiye, Isabel Debre in Buenos Aires, Krutika Pathi in New Delhi, and Karel Janicek in Prague contributed.
