Hungary hails Trump move to end funding for ‘Radio Free Europe’

A senior aide to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has welcomed the US government’s decision to cut funding for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) operations in Hungary, describing it as a return to “sober, ally-based cooperation” between Washington and Budapest.

Kari Lake, acting CEO of the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), told Congress on Wednesday that the agency would “terminate and no longer fund” the Hungarian branch of RFE/RL, known as Szabad Europa. She said the outlet had “undermined President Donald Trump’s foreign policy” by opposing Hungary’s elected government, and that U.S. taxpayer money would no longer be used to target NATO allies.

Balazs Orban, the prime minister’s political adviser (no relation), praised the move in a post on X, saying Szabad Europa had become “an ideologically driven platform promoting liberal activism, including LGBTQ and gender campaigns,” and that it had intensified anti-government narratives under the Biden administration.

He said ending the outlet’s funding signalled the Trump administration’s intent to rebuild ties with Hungary on the basis of “mutual respect and balanced partnership.”

RFE/RL, a Cold War-era broadcaster once funded by the CIA, has been supported in recent years by USAGM. Trump previously ordered sweeping cuts to the agency’s budget, claiming it was infiltrated by “spies and terrorist sympathisers.”

The announcement came as Viktor Orban met with Trump at the White House on Friday, where both leaders praised renewed cooperation. Orban said Hungary had secured a one-year exemption from US sanctions on Russian oil, calling the decision a sign of a “new golden age” in US-Hungary relations.