US conservatives cheer autocratic Hungarian leader Orban

By PAUL J. WEBER
Associated Press

DALLAS (AP) — Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is urging American conservatives to “take back the institutions,” stick to hardline stances on gay rights and immigration and fight for the pivotal next U.S. presidential election. The far-right leader received loud cheers and standing ovations Thursday at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Dallas. Orban has been criticized for undermining his country’s democratic institutions, but his invitation to the large conservative gathering demonstrated the growing embrace between the leader of an autocratic government and Republicans in the U.S. In a speech he titled “How We Fight,” Orban told the crowd to look ahead to the 2024 election, saying they had “two years to get ready.”