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Former President Donald Trump has appeared at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Hungary via a pre-recorded video.
Trump was not listed as being among the speakers or guest appearances at the event held in Budapest, but a clip of him was played at the start of the second day.
During his message, Trump praised Hungary's populist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán as a "tremendous leader" while declaring that conservatives are in a "historic battle" against "Marxist, globalists and communists" all over the world.
"It's a true honor to address the freedom loving patriots gathered in Hungary to celebrate the timeless values and principles that unite conservatives all over the world," Trump said.
"We believe that faith and family are the bedrock of a good and free society. We believe that a nation without borders is not a nation at all. We believe in tradition, the role of law, freedom of speech, and the God-given dignity of every human life.
"These are the ideas that bind together our movement, and these are the ideas that will save Western civilization. As you know, we are now engaged in a historic battle with the Marxist globalists and communists all over the world. We're fighting against barbarians who want to demolish our liberty and our traditions and everything we hold dear.
"Keep up the fight and never waver in defense of our freedom and our civilization. We have the communists and globalists in retreat, and as long as we press confidently ahead, we will absolutely win. We're winning now and we will close it out."
This is the second time that Hungary has held its own CPAC event. In August 2022, Orbán appeared as a guest speaker when the right-wing conference was held in Dallas, Texas, in August 2022.
Orbán's appearance at the CPAC event in Dallas arrived shortly after he spoke out against "race mixing" in a speech condemned as "a purely Nazi diatribe" by his own adviser, who resigned in protest.
The Hungarian prime minister responded that his government has a "zero tolerance policy on antisemitism and racism."
Orbán has long been an ally to Trump, especially during the former president's time in the White House.
During his headline appearance at CPAC Hungary on Thursday, Orbán called for Trump to return as U.S. president, with the Republican currently the favorite to clinch the GOP 2024 nomination.
"I'm sure if President Trump would be the president, there would be no war in Ukraine and Europe. Come back, Mr President. Make America great again and bring us peace," Orbán said.
Other Republican figures appearing at this year's CPAC Hungary include include former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, Trump's ex-chief of staff Mark Meadows, and Arizona congressman Paul Gosar.
On Thursday, Tucker Carlson also appeared at CPAC Hungary via videolink to deliver a message that was recorded before his departure from Fox News.
"I wish I was there in Budapest. If I ever get fired and have some time and can leave, I will be there with you," Carlson said in a clip filmed at his old Fox News studio in New York.
Update 05/05/23, 6 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
About the writer
Ewan Palmer is a Newsweek News Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on US politics, and Florida ... Read more