American conservatives have a new infatuation with a country that’s not the U.S., so Jordan Klepper visited Hungary to figure out why.
“The Daily Show” comedian observed at the CPAC convention in Florida earlier this year that many of former President Donald Trump’s supporters have also become big fans of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, a far-right leader adored by Trump while shepherding Hungary’s democratic decline.
Speaking to Orbán hard-liners in the Hungarian capital, Klepper said he felt “right at home” hearing the “greatest hits” he’s come to know so well from Trump rallies.
“The first thing that shocked us when we landed in Budapest, we went to a rally on essentially their independence day,” Klepper told HuffPost in an interview. “And I was amazed at how quickly I heard about Hunter Biden’s laptop, about [Joe] Biden being to blame for the invasion in Ukraine, and George Soros as a bad guy.”
Klepper noted that Orbán, who has held power for four consecutive terms, has achieved a comeback that Trump appears to want so badly. The Hungarian leader has served a total of five terms: His first, from 1998 to 2002, ended in defeat and cries of foul about electoral fraud, starting the country’s slide toward autocracy.
“I think the far right in America is excited about Hungary because of the effectiveness of the Orbán regime,” Klepper explained.
“He got kicked out of office years and years ago, and he was so embarrassed by it he vowed to get back into office and make it impossible for him to get out of office again.”
“Which feels like it’s in line with a certain guy who lives down in Mar-a-Lago,” he continued. “I think those whims and that kind of butthurt mentality feels right in line there.”
The new 30-minute special, “Jordan Klepper Fingers the Globe: Hungary for Democracy,” premieres Thursday.