Is the Trump Administration Getting Hungary for Authoritarianism? By: Marissa Alayna Navarro
I. Introduction
Since taking office on January 20, 2025, Donald Trump has placed the future of American democracy in jeopardy.[1] His return to power is not just a political shift—it is a test of the country’s ability to withstand the forces of authoritarianism that have already reshaped nations like Hungary.[2] Under Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, Hungary has continued its deliberate erosion of democratic institutions, silencing independent media, stacking courts with loyalists, and dissolving key government agencies.[3] Now, Trump appears to be following the same playbook.[4]
The warning signs are clear.[5] From relentless attacks on the press to sweeping executive actions that consolidate power, the Trump administration is already echoing Orbán governance style.[6] Policies restricting immigration, targeting marginalized communities, and revoking existing DEI programs are not merely conservative strategies; they are the hallmarks of an autocratic shift.[7] In other words, if Hungary is a warning, then the United States is at a turning point; will it push back against democratic backsliding or slide further into authoritarianism.[8]
This article will explore the growing similarities between Trump’s second administration and Hungary’s political landscape, analyzing how nationalist rhetoric, institutional manipulation, and cultural warfare are being used to dismantle democracy from within. More importantly, it will examine what can still be done to fight back—before it’s too late.
II. The Political Landscape in Hungary
Orbán has turned Hungary into a blueprint for authoritarianism, steadily chipping away at democratic institutions.[9] His government has undermined judicial independence, rewritten electoral laws to favor his party, and centralized power in the executive branch.[10] Controlling the media has been a key part of his strategy—state-aligned outlets dominate the airwaves, while independent journalists are harassed, silenced, or forced out.[11] The result is a heavily controlled information landscape where dissenting voices are drowned out, and public discourse is shaped to serve Orbán’s political agenda.[12]
At the same time, Orbán has pushed nationalist policies under the guise of protecting Hungarian identity.[13] His government has enacted harsh anti-immigration laws, erecting border fences and using xenophobic rhetoric to frame migrants as existential threats.[14] LGBTQ+ rights have been systematically rolled back, with laws banning same-sex adoption, restricting discussions of gender identity in schools, and portraying LGBTQ+ individuals as dangers to children and traditional values.[15] Academic freedom has also suffered, with the forced closure of independent institutions like Central European University, an internationally respected school driven out of Hungary for challenging the government.[16]
Despite widespread condemnation from the European Union, Orbán has continued his march toward illiberalism, openly embracing the idea of a “Christian democracy” that prioritizes nationalism over pluralism.[17] His success in dismantling democratic norms while maintaining a firm grip on power has inspired far-right leaders worldwide, including Donald Trump.[18] For those seeking to undermine democratic institutions while avoiding the backlash of a dictatorship, Orbán offers a playbook—one that Trump is following.[19]
III. The Start of Trump’s 2025 Administration
Trump’s second term began with an aggressive push to undo Biden-era policies, wielding executive power as a tool to cement his influence and reshape the federal government in his image.[20] Within days of taking office, his administration unleashed a wave of executive orders aimed at reversing progressive reforms and consolidating control.[21] Immigration was among his top priorities, with policies restricting asylum claims, expanding deportation efforts, and reviving harsh border enforcement measures.[22] Echoing the hardline nationalist agenda of Hungary’s Orbán, Trump reinstated travel bans targeting Muslim-majority countries, ramped up workplace immigration raids, and pushed for stricter limits on legal immigration, reinforcing his long-standing rhetoric of "Make America Great Again."[23]
Beyond immigration, Trump swiftly moved to dismantle progressive social policies. His administration aggressively rolled back protections for LGBTQ+ individuals, revoking anti-discrimination measures in healthcare, housing, and education. Transgender rights, in particular, became a primary target, with bans on gender-affirming care and federal recognition of gender identity.[24]
Perhaps most alarming was Trump’s push to shrink the role of the federal government by eliminating entire agencies deemed obstacles to his agenda.[25] Departments overseeing environmental regulations, civil rights enforcement, and public education faced mass layoffs, budget cuts, or outright dissolution.[26] By gutting these institutions, Trump not only weakened federal oversight but also cleared the path for his administration to operate with fewer checks on its power.[27]His strategy mirrored Orbán’s systematic dismantling of independent institutions, ensuring that government structures served political loyalty over public interest.[28]
Through these sweeping actions, Trump signaled that his second term would be far more radical than his first, not just an attempt to roll back Democratic policies, but an effort to fundamentally reshape American governance in a way that favors autocratic control.[29] The question now is how far he is willing to go—and whether American institutions are strong enough to resist the transformation.[30]
VIII. Conclusion
The similarities between Orbán’s Hungary and Trump’s second administration aren’t just coincidences, they’re part of a larger, global shift toward authoritarianism disguised as nationalism.[31] By gutting democratic institutions, restricting civil liberties, and consolidating power, Trump is following a playbook that has already turned Hungary into an illiberal state.[32] His attacks on the judiciary, the media, and marginalized communities aren’t just political moves; they’re calculated steps to dismantle democracy itself.[33]
But this isn’t set in stone. The U.S. still has the tools to push back—through protests, voting, legal challenges, and refusing to let democratic norms erode without a fight.[34] Journalists, activists, and everyday Americans need to continue bringing awareness to what’s at stake and refuse to accept this slow slide toward authoritarianism as the new normal.[35] If Hungary is a warning, then the U.S. is at a turning point. The choice is clear. stand up and fight for democracy, or watch it disappear. The time to act is now.
[1] Mike Wendling, Project 2025: The Right-Wing Wish List for Trump’s Second Term, BBC (Feb. 3, 2025), https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c977njnvq2do.
[2] David Smith, In a Real Sense, US Democracy has Died: How Trump is Emulating Hungary’s Orban, The Guardian (Feb. 7, 2025), https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/07/trump-viktor-orban-electoral-autocracy.
[3] Julianne Cullen, Viktor Orban’s Hungary: A Democracy Backsliding, Democratic Erosion Consortium (Apr. 20, 2022), https://democratic-erosion.org/2022/04/20/viktor-orbans-hungary-a-democracy-backsliding/.
[4] Avery Lotz & Sareen Habeshian, Tracking Trump’s Executive Actions by Category, Axios (Feb. 11, 2025), https://www.axios.com/2025/02/11/trumps-executive-orders-memos.
[5] Id.
[6] Avery Lotz & Sareen Habeshian, Tracking Trump’s Executive Actions by Category, Axios (Feb. 11, 2025), https://www.axios.com/2025/02/11/trumps-executive-orders-memos; Tom Jones, And so it Begins –Trump’s Attacks on the Media, Poynter (Feb. 3, 2025), https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2025/pentagon-annual-media-rotation-oan-nypost-breitbart/.
[7] Supra, note 4.
[8] Vanessa Williamson, Four Things to Know About Democratic Erosion, Brookings (Oct. 18, 2023), https://www.brookings.edu/articles/four-things-to-know-about-democratic-erosion/.
[9] Hungary, Freedom House (Mar 9, 2023), https://freedomhouse.org/country/hungary.
[10] Id.
[11] Edit Zgut-Przybylska, The EU Is Letting Hungary and Poland Erode Democracy, Foreign Pol’y. (Sep. 27,2023), https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/09/27/eu-hungary-poland-orban-democracy-measures-elections-migrants-media/.
[12] Id.
[13] Id.
[14] Josh Lowe, ‘It Is Like A Virus’: Brussels Braces For Third Referendum Defeat In Hungary, Newsweek (Oct. 5, 2016), https://www.newsweek.com/eu-hungary-referendum-brexit-refugee-crisis-solidarity-viktor-orban-504410.
[15] RFE/RL, Hungarian Parliament Approves Referendum on LGBT Issues, Radio Free Eur. Radio Liberty (Nov. 20 2021), https://www.rferl.org/a/hungary-approves-referendum-lgbt/31587399.html.
[16] Lauren Kent and Samantha Tapfumaneyi, Hungary’s PM bans gender study at colleges say ‘people are born either male or female,’ CNN (Oct. 19, 2018), https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/19/europe/hungary-bans-gender-study-at-colleges-trnd/index.html.
[17] Wrong Direction on Rights: Assessing the Impact of Hungary’s New Constitution and Laws, Hum. Rts. Watch (May 16, 2013) https://www.hrw.org/report/2013/05/16/wrong-direction-rights/assessing-impact-hungarys-new-constitution-and-laws#:~:text=The%20Hungarian%20parliament%20in%20November,for%20judges%20from%2070%20to; Krisztina Koenen, Hungary and the EU: A deepening divide, GIS Rep. Online (May 17, 2023), https://www.gisreportsonline.com/r/hungary-eu-divide/.
[18] Britannica, Fidesz, The Ed. of Encyclopedia Britannica (Sep. 18, 2023), https://www.britannica.com/topic/Fidesz.
[19] Robert Benson, Hungary’s Democratic Backsliding Threatens the Trans-Atlantic Security Order, Ctr. for Am. Progress (Jan. 22, 2024), https://www.americanprogress.org/article/hungarys-democratic-backsliding-threatens-the-trans-atlantic-security-order/.
[20] Ajoi Adams & Logan Richberg, Trump’s Executive Orders: A Drastic Reversal of Biden-Era Policies, The Hilltop (Jan. 29, 2025), https://thehilltoponline.com/2025/01/29/trumps-executive-orders-a-drastic-reversal-of-biden-era-policies/.
[21] Id.
[22] Id.
[23] Nicole Narea, How Trump is Laying the Groundwork for Another Travel Ban, Vox (Jan. 30, 2025), https://www.vox.com/politics/397383/trump-travel-ban-immigration-executive-order; Ajoi Adams & Logan Richberg, Trump’s Executive Orders: A Drastic Reversal of Biden-Era Policies, The Hilltop (Jan. 29, 2025), https://thehilltoponline.com/2025/01/29/trumps-executive-orders-a-drastic-reversal-of-biden-era-policies/.
[24] Supra, note 20.
[25] Associated Press, Eric Tucker, Michelle L. Price & Zeke Miller, With Firing and Lax Enforcement, Trump Moving to Dismantle Government’s Public Integrity Guardrails, Whyy PBS NPR (Feb. 11, 2025), https://whyy.org/articles/trump-firings-federal-government-public-integrity/.
[26] Mark Sherman & Will Weisset, Trump Offers all Federal Workers a Buyout with 7 Months’ Pay in Effort to Shrink Size of Government, OPB (Jan. 28, 2025), https://www.opb.org/article/2025/01/28/trump-offers-all-federal-workers-a-buyout-with-7-months-pay-in-effort-to-shrink-size-of-government/; Raquel Martin, Trump Administration Moves to Shut Down Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, On your Side Wavy (Feb. 10, 2025), https://www.wavy.com/washington-dc/trump-administration-moves-to-shut-down-consumer-financial-protection-bureau/.
[27] Id.
[28] Zack Beauchamp, It Happened There: How Democracy Died in Hungary, Vox (Sep. 13, 2018), https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/9/13/17823488/hungary-democracy-authoritarianism-trump.
[29] Nik Popli, Trump’s Early Actions Mirror Project 2025, the Blueprint He Once Dismissed, Time (Jan. 24, 2025), https://time.com/7209901/donald-trump-executive-actions-project-2025/.
[30] Id.
[31] Zack Beauchamp, Their Democracy Died. They Have Lessons for America about Trump’s Power Grab, Vox (Feb. 5, 2025), https://www.vox.com/politics/398068/trump-musk-power-grab-hungary-orban.
[32] Id.
[33] Sasha Abramsky, Trump’s All-Out Assault on American Democracy Has Begun, The Nation (Jan. 24, 2025), https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/trump-assault-american-democracy/.
[34] Lauren Gambino, US Democrats Call for More Aggressive Tactics Against Trump and Musk: ‘We’re going to be the Opposition,’ The Guardian (Feb. 9, 2025), https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/09/democrats-aggressive-stand-against-trump; Claire Cameron, Trump’s Agenda Increasingly Slowed by Mounting Legal Challenges, Semafor (Feb. 9, 2025), https://www.semafor.com/article/02/09/2025/mounting-legal-challenges-are-slowing-down-trumps-agenda.
[35] Caitlin Sievers, Veterans, Activists Unite in Arizona’s 50501 Protest Against Trump, Musk and Project 2025, AZ Mirror (Feb. 5, 2025), https://azmirror.com/2025/02/05/veterans-activists-unite-in-arizonas-50501-protest-against-trump-musk-and-project-2025/; Noel Brennan, Protesters Rally Against Trump’s Immigration Policies in Downtown Chicago Saturday Afternoon, CBS News (Jan. 25, 2025), https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/protesters-rally-against-trumps-policies-trump-tower/; Craig Nigrelli, Protests Against Trump and Project 2025 Expected in all 50 States, San (Feb. 5, 2025), https://san.com/cc/protests-against-trump-and-project-2025-expected-in-all-50-states/.