Corruption Toppled Viktor Orbán. Could Donald Trump Be Next?
4/17/202641 min
The Washington Roundtable discusses how the anti-corruption candidate Péter Magyar brought down Hungary's autocratic Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, and what implications that victory holds for the far-right movements around the world that Orbán helped embolden. The panel is joined by Kim Lane Scheppele, a Princeton professor who has lived in Hungary and studied its democratic backsliding. Together, they unpack how Magyar’s campaign succeeded by connecting Orbán’s corruption to the everyday struggles of Hungarians, and how that approach might inform Democratic strategy in the 2028 Presidential election.
This week’s reading:
- “America’s Orange Jesus,” by Susan B. Glasser
- “The Hungarian Election Shows That Even Strongmen Can Lose,” by Andrew Marantz
- “TMZ Gets Political,” by Paula Mejía
- “Who Is the U.S. Negotiating with in Iran?,” by Sudarsan Raghavan
- “ ‘The Peace President’ Gets Belligerent with Iran and the Pope,” by Robin Wright
- “How Much Has the War in Iran Depleted the U.S. Missile Supply?,” by Garrett M. Graff
- “How Project Maven Put A.I. Into the Kill Chain,” by Gideon Lewis-Kraus
- “The Extremes of Israeli Public Opinion,” by Isaac Chotiner
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Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsSusan B. Glasser· Host0:01
What is your favorite Trump Pope meme?
Jane Mayer· Panelist0:03
Oh my God, they are so good. [laughs] I kind of like the one of Jesus holding up his fingers and the caption says, "This is my eye doctor [laughs] asking me how many fingers I see." [laughs] [laughs] That was pretty good.
Evan Osnos· Panelist0:19
I was gonna say, I happen to like the one of all the doctors in the pit dressed in their- [laughs] ... white robes and red sash. That, that has a nice touch about it.
Susan B. Glasser· Host0:27
Well, you know it's backfired for Donald Trump a bit when no less than Sarah Palin is tweeting a picture of Jesus saying, "It's time to put down the phone."
Evan Osnos· Panelist0:37
[laughs] Wow. [laughs] Yeah.
Susan B. Glasser· Host0:40
We've lost Sarah Palin, folks. [laughs] Well, I feel like this episode, it's a successor to last week's episode, guys.
Evan Osnos· Panelist0:49
That's true. You're right.
Susan B. Glasser· Host0:50
Uh, because last week we talked about JD Vance, question mark, will he manage to miraculously do what others have failed to do and solve the 47-year impasse between the United States and Iran in his peace talks in Pakistan? Question mark, will he manage to rescue- [laughs] ... the Hungarian would-be autocrat Viktor Orbán from what appeared to be almost certain defeat by his intervention? Question mark. Answer to both, no. So consider this JD Vance, part two. [upbeat music] Welcome to