Former President Donald Trump and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who met at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida this weekend, have a "lot in common," especially when it comes to enforcing border security, Fred Fleitz, a National Security Council chief of staff under Trump, said on Newsmax Sunday.
"It was a fascinating meeting," Fleitz, who was at the event, told Newsmax's "Wake Up America," adding that he could not go into details about what was discussed, as the meeting was off the record.
But he described Orban and Trump as leaders who have "bucked conventional wisdom" in running their countries, and said that Hungary has "cut its nation off to illegal immigration."
"Orban is very proud of saying that this is why the violence that's being seen across Europe in Germany, the U.K., and especially in Sweden has not happened in Hungary because it has defended its borders and it will not take illegal migrants."
Orban has endorsed Trump's presidential campaign, while enforcement from foreign leaders "never happens," as it is ordinarily regarded as election interference, Fleitz said.
However, the Biden administration has ostracized Orban, he said.
"I don't think Orban saw any harm in doing this," said Fleitz. "Everyone knows where he stands, and he just spoke his mind."
Orban, meanwhile, has been criticized for his relationships with China and Russia, but Fleitz said many of the country's trade relationships are "transactional" and do not mean Hungary endorses the other countries' political systems.
"Hungary also has been isolated by West European countries because they don't like the way it plays against the European Union and in NATO," said Fleitz. "I think for that reason they have struck out economic relationships with other nations. It doesn't mean they're endorsing them. But Hungary has done what it has to do."
Meanwhile, the Zionist Organization of America has condemned Orban and the Hungarian government for signing an economic pact with Iran, noting that the Middle Eastern nation is arming Russia against Ukraine and that it sponsors terror groups that attack U.S. forces and Israel.
Fleitz acknowledged that the ZOA's criticism is "pretty powerful," and said that he asked another conservative Jewish leader about the matter and was told that the Hungary-Iran relationship was a "drug and pharmaceutical trade" between the countries because Hungary has been cut off from Western Europe.
"I don't endorse this deal, but I've been told that it is not what the ZOA says," said Fleitz. "I love the ZOA and I think they are right on most issues. But my friend, a former head of a major conservative Jewish organization, said this is not an accurate representation of this agreement. But I have to say, I'm not going to go around endorsing deals with Iran."
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