Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán cracked a joke about Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt during a meeting with top officials at the White House on Friday, prompting laughs from the crowd.
Orbán, Trump and other top officials from the Hungarian and US governments met in the Cabinet Room on Friday to discuss relations between the two countries, the war between Russia and Ukraine and other issues facing Europe.
When a reporter pressed Trump during the meeting about what he is doing to lower prices for US consumers, the president asked Leavitt to quickly step in to set the record straight.
‘Karoline, could you discuss that question that was asked and how it was asked in such a fake, disgusting manner by the fake news?’ the president requested.
Leavitt immediately began listing policies implemented by Trump to cut down on costs.
‘He signed the largest middle-class tax cut in six months, in six months, in record time,’ she said. ‘So affordability is what the American people elected the president to do, and he is doing it, and you guys refuse to cover it.’
‘The previous administration created the worst unaffordability crisis in American history. And I’ve been watching the TV all day, saying that he [Trump] doesn’t want to talk about affordability. That’s what he’s working on every day.’
Her decisive response clearly impressed the Hungarian leader, who immediately joked that he’d like to hire Leavitt, telling the room, ‘Can I get her [for] some months?’
‘Karoline, could you discuss that question that was asked and how it was asked in such a fake, disgusting manner by the fake news?’ the president requested after getting an inquiry on affordability in the US
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán joked during a White House meeting Friday that he’d like to hire White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt after she defended Trump’s efforts to bring down costs for US consumers
‘Can I get her for some months?’ the Hungarian leader joked after Leavitt’s sharp answer
Trump liked the quip, saying, ‘Karoline, the prime minister would like you to work for him in Hungary.’
Orbán shot back to the press secretary: ‘Please consider it.’
Leavitt later posted on social media, thanking the leader for his remarks.
‘Thank you Prime Minister Orban for being so kind, but I’m staying right here,’ she posted on X.
Orbán also told Trump during the meeting that it would take a ‘miracle’ for Ukraine to win the war against Russia.
Seated next to Orbán in the Cabinet Room, the president expressed optimism that ‘we’re going to get that war ended in the not-too-distant future.’
Trump’s second meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin was supposed to be held in the Hungarian capital of Budapest, with Orbán hosting, but it got scrapped last month, days after it was announced, as negotiations stalled.
Orbán said one major issue is that the Europeans have a ‘different approach to the war,’ as the Hungarian leader has said that Ukraine should cede territory to Russia to gain a ceasefire.
‘A miracle can happen,’ Hungary’s Prime Minister Victor Orbán (left) responded when asked by President Donald Trump (right) Friday in the Cabinet Room if he believed that Ukraine cannot win the war
President Donald Trump (left) is captured greeting Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán (right) outside the West Wing on Friday, which marked Orbán’s first visit to the White House during Trump’s second term
He said Hungary and the United States were ‘the only pro-peace’ governments.
‘All the other governments prefer to continue the war, because many of them think that Ukraine can win on the front line, which is a misunderstanding of the situation,’ the Hungarian leader said.
Trump then asked, ‘So you would say that Ukraine cannot win that war?’
‘A miracle can happen,’ Orbán replied.
Trump has gone back and forth on whether he believes Ukraine can win, as his relationship with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has veered from nasty to nice.
In September, after meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, Trump made the surprising pronouncement that he even thought Ukraine could win on the battlefield.
‘I think Ukraine, with the support of the European Union, is in a position to fight and win all of Ukraine back in its original form,’ Trump said at the time.
But weeks later, Trump shifted his position, suggesting such a victory would be tough.
He expressed more optimism for a Ukrainian win when things were especially sour with Putin.
On Friday, Trump said the Putin meeting in Budapest didn’t happen because Russia wasn’t ready to end the war.
‘The basic dispute is they just don’t want to stop yet,’ the president answered.
‘And I think they will,’ Trump also offered.
Last month, Trump put more pressure on Russia to stop the fighting by upping sanctions.
He sanctioned two of Russia’s largest energy companies, a move that complicated his relationship with Orbán due to Hungary continuing to purchase Russian fuel.
On Friday, Trump was sympathetic to Orbán’s plight, noting how Hungary is landlocked.
‘We’re looking at it,’ the president said. ‘Because it’s very difficult for him to get the oil and gas from other areas, as you know, they don’t have the advantage of having sea, it’s a great country, it’s a big country, but they don’t have sea, they don’t have the ports.’
Trump then slammed other European countries that were still buying oil from Russia.
‘And as they know, I’m very disturbed by that, because we’re helping them, and they’re going and buying oil and gas from Russia,’ Trump said.
