The Albany Gazette - After Munich speech, Rubio visits Trump's allies in Slovakia and Hungary

The visits come a day after Rubio called on Europeans to defend "Western civilisation" in a speech at the Munich Security Conference, urging them to rally behind the US president's vision of a "renewal" of the world order.

During a visit of several hours in Bratislava, Rubio is scheduled to meet Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico, a nationalist leader who has positioned himself as an ally to Trump.

During a recent visit to Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, Fico reportedly expressed concern about the US president's mental state, according to Politico, citing anonymous European diplomats.

Both Washington and Bratislava have vehemently denied this.

The Slovak leader said after the Mar-a-Lago meeting that he and Trump had had "extremely important" discussions on nuclear energy.

The US Secretary of State will then travel to Budapest for meetings on Monday with Hungarian officials, including Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

Trump makes no secret of his support for the right-wing Hungarian nationalist leader, whom he describes as a "strong and powerful man," ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for April 12.

Orban faces the toughest challenge to his grip on power since returning to office in 2010, as his Fidesz party trails opposition leader Peter Magyar's TISZA party in the polls before the election.

- Friend of MAGA movement -

In a speech on Saturday, Orban pledged to continue his fight against "bought pseudo-civil organisations, journalists, judges and politicians".

Orban's rhetoric and politics often echo those of Trump, and he has cast himself as a European friend of Trump's MAGA movement.

Many American conservatives admire Orban for his hardline anti-immigration stance, resistance to LGBTQ rights and war against "gender ideology".

Orban has also announced plans to travel to Washington next week to attend the inaugural meeting of Trump's "Board of Peace".

Orban also managed to secure Hungary an exemption from US sanctions on importing Russian oil and gas during a visit to the White House last year.

Former Democratic president Joe Biden had a much more hostile relationship with Orban, whom he accused of "looking for a dictatorship" in Hungary, including by muzzling independent media.

Energy is expected to be a major topic of discussion for Rubio in both Bratislava and Budapest, US officials indicated ahead of the trip.

These two nations are landlocked Central European countries that have sought to keep warm ties to the Kremlin despite the 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Both also depend heavily on Russian fossil fuels, and both countries have found themselves locked in a standoff with the European Union over the decision to end imports of Russian gas.

US officials said Washington intends to strengthen energy ties with its two right-wing European allies.

(F.Allen--TAG)