Planned Trump visit to Budapest reportedly fell apart

Speculation has intensified in recent days over a possible spring campaign visit by US president Donald Trump to Budapest, after investigative journalist Szabolcs Panyi claimed that an official announcement was prepared – but ultimately never made.

Trump’s visit to Budapest failed?

According to Panyi, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was expected to reveal on 8 January that Trump would travel to Hungary during the peak of the 2026 election campaign. The announcement would have coincided with the unveiling of the date and headline guests of CPAC Hungary 2026, the Budapest edition of the Conservative Political Action Conference, a right-wing political gathering closely associated with Trumpism.

In late December, CPAC Hungary’s chief organiser, Miklós Szánthó, head of the government-funded Centre for Fundamental Rights (Alapjogokért Központ), had already hinted that a “major announcement” was imminent. He also suggested that, unlike previous years, the event might be held in March rather than May – a timing that would place it squarely in the final stretch of Hungary’s parliamentary election campaign, writes Népszava.

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CPAC Hungary is seen as a key event

Government-linked sources have long indicated that CPAC Hungary 2026 is viewed as strategically crucial. Panyi reports that the organisers’ primary goal has been to secure the participation of a top-tier Republican figure to openly support Orbán’s campaign. While bringing Trump himself to Budapest would be the ultimate prize, insiders say that at minimum they hoped to attract US Vice President JD Vance to appear alongside the Hungarian prime minister.

Holding CPAC during the campaign’s final weeks, rather than after the election as would have been the case with a May date, is widely seen as a strong signal of political intent. Despite this ambition, critics note that the Hungarian version of CPAC has so far failed to draw any genuinely influential Republican leaders, despite operating on billions of forints of Hungarian taxpayer funding.

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Apparently, Trump’s letter offered no serious commitment from their part

The possibility of a Trump or Vance visit was also raised publicly at Orbán’s international press conference on 7 January, when a Reuters journalist asked whether such a trip could take place. Orbán responded that it was “likely” that either the US president or another senior American official would attend political events in Hungary in the spring, adding that high-ranking US figures “usually” take part in such gatherings.

However, the following day passed without any formal CPAC announcement, and no confirmation of American guests was made. Adding to the confusion, Orbán later shared a letter from Trump dated 10 December 2025, in which the US president thanked him for the invitation to Hungary. The letter stated only that Trump’s team would be in touch to coordinate a suitable date – offering no concrete commitment.

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Expert thinks something does not add up

The delayed publication of the letter, more than a month after it was written, has raised further questions. Panyi suggests that something may have gone wrong behind the scenes, preventing the planned announcement from going ahead as expected. At a recent Fidesz party congress, Szánthó reportedly asked for “a few more days of patience” regarding the CPAC guest list, though no explanation was given for the delay. As of now, neither Trump’s nor Vance’s participation has been confirmed.

Panyi has also posed an uncomfortable question for the Hungarian government: what happens if Trump’s team ultimately fails to find a suitable date for a visit before 12 April 2026, shortly ahead of Hungary’s parliamentary elections?