Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has praised the administration of former US President Donald Trump for reforming the US Agency for International Development (USAID), specifically citing the agency's funding of the media outlet Politico.
In a post on X, Orbán stated, "I believe the world owes President Trump a debt of gratitude for exposing and ending this dark conspiracy." He pointed to USAID's funding of Politico, which has been critical of him. "Apparently, USAID funded the ultra-progressive Politico in Brussels and basically all left-wing media in Hungary under the previous US administration. And they called me 'disruptor of the year,'" he added.
Orbán was referring to Politico's list of the 28 most influential people in Europe in 2024, where he was categorized as a "disruptor." Elon Musk, head of the US government's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), responded to Orbán's post, stating, "The anti-corruption campaign is accelerating."
Previously, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt announced that Politico had received $8 million from US government agencies, including USAID. "The DOGE team is working on canceling those payments now," she stated.