1. United States
2. Tenn.
3. Letter

Vice President Vance should not be campaigning for Viktor Orbán in Hungary's election this Sunday. This trip sends a dangerous message that America backs leaders who undermine democracy and serve Russian interests. Orbán's foreign minister has been caught on tape sharing confidential EU summit details with Russian officials and lobbying to remove Russians from sanctions lists at Moscow's request. Hungary continues defying EU efforts to reduce dependence on Russian energy, relying on oil through the Druzhba pipeline and gas through TurkStream. When the Druzhba pipeline stopped flowing in January, the Trump administration offered no diplomatic support, forcing Hungary to drain fuel reserves. Now Orbán and Serbian President Vucic are being accused by Hungarian opposition leaders and former intelligence sources of staging a supposed terror attack on the gas pipeline to boost his re-election chances. This is the kind of authoritarian playbook America should condemn, not endorse. I expect you to publicly oppose this trip and make clear that the United States does not take sides in democratic elections, especially not for leaders who leak EU secrets to Moscow and campaign on hostility to Ukraine.