Nine lessons for the US from Viktor Orbán’s defeat | Kenneth Roth

As US elections approach, the Hungarian prime minister’s loss is a reminder that history does not march relentlessly toward autocracy

Viktor Orbán’s electoral loss was a https://www.theatlantic.com/national-security/2026/04/viktor-orbans-loss-was-also-a-defeat-for-maga/686781/?utm_campaign=atlantic-daily-newsletter&utm_content=20260415&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&lctg=650cc2d44f7634a6b7062346&utm_term=The%20Atlantic%20Daily">slap in the face for Donald Trump and JD Vance, who had enthusiastically https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/07/world/europe/vance-hungary-orban-fidesz-election.html">endorsed Europe’s most https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/12/world/europe/hungary-election-orban-magyar.html">visible autocrat but proved unable to salvage his candidacy.

But Hungarian voters’ 12 April rejection of Orbán also holds important lessons for Americans who hope to resist Trump’s own autocratic tendencies.

As the November midterm elections approach, here are a few takeaways:

Prioritize opposition unity.

Orbán was defeated by a broad coalition led by Péter Magyar under the banner of his new Tisza party.

The opposition’s unity mattered.

As some Democrats remain wedded to purity tests, https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/12/opinion/hasan-piker-democrats.html">refusing to make common cause with people who reject one or more progressive tenets, Hungarians from https://www.journalofdemocracy.org/online-exclusive/how-viktor-orban-loses/">across the political spectrum joined hands in the shared goal of defeating Orbán.

For them, the debate between right and left https://www.journalofdemocracy.org/online-exclusive/how-viktor-orban-loses/">paled in importance compared to the need to redeem Hungary’s democracy.

Some political parties even refrained from https://www.ft.com/content/85210187-c757-4432-bb57-6b636a669e72">fielding candidates, sacrificing their immediate interests to avoid dividing the anti-Orbán vote.