Donald and Viktor reunite at Mar-a-Lago

July 11, 2024

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U.S. President Donald Trump greets Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, U.S., May 13, 2019.

REUTERS/Carlos Barria

Former President Donald Trump is hostingViktor Orbán at his Florida resort on Thursday, less than a week after the Hungarian prime minister made controversial visits to Moscow and Beijing to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President XiJinping.

Orbán was in the US this week for the NATO summit in Washington. Though his country is a member of the alliance, Orbán — an anti-immigrant politician who’s extremely popular with the US right wing — is frequently at odds with the West. His amiable demeanor toward the Kremlin, opposition to providing aid to Ukraine, and antidemocratic tendencies have made him an outsider in NATO and the EU.

Trump, a well-known NATO skeptic, has a lot in common with Orbán: He’s nationalistic, isn’t a fan of sending assistance to Kyiv, and has been criticized for palling around with authoritarians like Putin. And Orbán has notably endorsed Trump’s 2024 campaign.

Their Mar-a-Lago rendezvous came after NATO leaders spent several days discussing how to defend Ukraine and democracy — and as President Joe Biden desperately tries to salvage his presidential campaign amid calls for him to step aside. The meeting is indicative of what a Trump victory in November might do to boost the global right.

We’ll be watching to see what details emerge from the meeting, and whether it offers more insights on Trump’s plans for US policy on Ukraine if he wins reelection.

Piers Cazalet, director of defense and security cooperation at NATO, downplayed the significance of the Trump-Orbán meeting in comments to GZERO Media on Thursday at an event on the sidelines of the summit in Washington. There are "32 allied leaders" in the US for the summit and “it’s normal” for them to have a “broad range” of meetings “across the US political spectrum,” Cazalet said, adding, “That’s what democracy is about.”

But Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski talked with Ian Bremmer on the sidelines of the summit for GZERO World and noted how Orbán’s rogue trips are in sharp contrast with NATO’s unified stance, which was on full display all week. Sikorski insists Orbán doesn’t represent the EU or NATO. Watch the interview here.

60% of Germans believe energy transition is necessary – and they want to be more involved in decision-making

BMW Foundation

The energy transition is one of society’s biggest challenges – especially for Europe’s largest economy – according to a survey commissioned by the BMW Foundation Herbert Quandt and undertaken by the Allensbach Institute for Public Opinion Research. Sixty percent of those polled believe the energy transition is necessary but have doubts about how it is being implemented. A whopping 63% would like to be more involved in energy-transition decisions affecting their region. The findings strongly suggest that it’s essential to get the public more involved in energy policymaking – to help build a future energy policy that leads to both economic prosperity and social cohesion. Read the full study “Attitudes Toward the Energy Transition” here.

G7 foreign ministers meet ahead of June summit. Could be awkward.

From left, British Foreign Minister David Lammy, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock pose for a photo during the G7 foreign ministers meeting in La Malbaie, Charlevoix, Quebec, on March 13, 2025.

SAUL LOEB/Pool via REUTERS

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Canada’s new PM is a technocratic banker who’s never been elected – that might help him

Canadian Liberal Party leader Mark Carney faces Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre in this composite, with Donald Trump hovering in the background.

Jess Frampton

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Russia's President Vladimir Putin addresses commanders as he visits a control center of the Russian armed forces in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict in the Kursk region, Russia, on March 12, 2025.

Russian Pool/Reuters TV via Reuters

Russian President Vladimir Putin made a surprise battlefield visit on Wednesday, telling troops in the Kursk region of Russia to “completely destroy” the Ukrainian forces that have occupied parts of the area for nearly seven months.

Donald and Viktor reunite at Mar-a-Lago

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Subscribe to GZERO Media's newsletter: Signal

Ahead of the 50th G7 Summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, this summer, foreign ministers from member countries are meeting in Charlevoix, Quebec, this week. Canada, as the current president of the G7, is hosting the confab, which may be a tad … awkward.

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Liberal Party leader Mark Carney’s previous, purported liabilities – being a staid, low-key, globalist technocrat who’s never been elected – may be seen as strengths as he prepares to call a snap election in the coming days. David Moscrop explains why.

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