WASHINGTON, April 12 (Reuters) – U.S. Democrats celebrated the defeat of \u200bHungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Sunday, while President Donald Trump’s allies and Republican peers \u200coffered a more mixed response to the loss of the leader that Trump had endorsed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump had backed Orban leading up to the vote, even speaking briefly last week at a campaign rally in Hungary, when U.S. Vice President JD Vance telephoned \u200bhis boss upon taking the stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But Orban lost power after 16 years as Hungarians voted \u200bin record numbers for a pro-EU course spearheaded by center-right rival Peter Magyar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
U.S. \u2060lawmakers from both major parties congratulated Magyar on his victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some Democrats framed Orban’s loss as a \u200bharbinger of things to come for the November midterm elections in the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Pay attention, Donald Trump. \u200bWannabe dictators wear out their welcome,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Far-right authoritarian Viktor Orban has lost the election. Trump sycophants and MAGA extremists in Congress are up next in November,” said U.S. House of Representatives Minority Leader Hakeem \u200bJeffries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Republicans such as U.S. Senator Roger Wicker viewed the Hungarian election result as a repudiation of Russian \u200bPresident Vladimir Putin, with whom Orban had cultivated ties over the years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wicker, a Mississippi Republican who chairs the Senate \u200cArmed \u2060Services Committee, said the results showed that Hungary’s population rejected “the malign influence of Vladimir Putin” and “decided their own future.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump himself did not mention the Hungarian elections on Sunday, even as he opined on topics through social media posts, a television interview and a brief gathering with reporters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But a few of his \u200bpro-Orban allies, such as technology \u200btycoon Elon Musk, \u2060lamented the result.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Soros Organization has taken over Hungary,” Musk wrote on his X social media platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Billionaire financier and major Democratic donor George Soros, a Hungarian immigrant \u200bto the United States, has long been vilified by many conservatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Orban has been \u200bat loggerheads \u2060with the European Union over a range of issues, including Russia’s war in Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His self-described “illiberal democracy” has echoed policies touted by Trump, including a hard line against immigration, hostility toward global institutions, and attacks on the media \u2060and \u200buniversities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Orban was the first European leader to endorse Trump during his \u200b2016 presidential bid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump said last week his administration stood ready “to use the full economic might of the United States to strengthen \u200bHungary’s economy” if Orban won.<\/p>\n\n\n\n