Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán got a rapturous reception during his speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Dallas, Texas, on Thursday, including frequent cheers from the crowd and a standing ovation at the end.
During his talk, entitled “How We Fight,” Orbán touched upon a number of subjects, inducing migration, the constitution of marriage and the fall of communism.
Orbán is perhaps the most controversial figure to talk at CPAC this year, with his appearance arriving after he recently spoke out against “race mixing” in a speech condemned as “pure Nazi” by his own adviser.
Below, Newsweek compiled six Orbán remarks that got the biggest cheers from the Texas crowd.
On the U.S. Role in Defeating Communism
On Thursday, Orbán praised the U.S. for helping his native Hungary defeat communism after the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 was suppressed by the Soviet Union before a peaceful transition occurred decades later.
“We Hungarians defeated communism, which was forced on us by Soviet troops and arms,” Orbán said: “It took a while. We began our fight in 1956 and won in 1990. But we did it, our fathers fired the first shot. And we, their sons, won the war. We know what we have Ronald Reagan to thank for.”
Anti-immigrant Rhetoric
Orbán, who often expressed far-right views when it comes to immigration, elicited huge cheers from the Republican crowd when he told of the hardline stance held by Hungary, which was reminiscent of Donald Trump.
“We were the first ones in Europe who said no to illegal migration and stopped the invasion of illegal migrants,” Orbán said. “We believe that illegal migration is necessary to protect our nation. To stop illegal migration, we actually built that wall.”
Reducing Abortions in Hungary
The prime minister also received applause from the conservative crowd when he discussed how abortions have decreased in Hungary since he came to power in 2010.
“In the last ten years the number of marriages has doubled and the number of abortions has halved in Hungary,” he said. “It’s not a bad start.”
Speaking Out Against Gay Marriage and Gender Identity
While reading out the Fundamental Laws of Hungary, Orbán was applauded while quoting lines stating marriage should be between a man and a woman.
“Hungary shall protect the institution of marriage as the union of one man and one woman,” Orbán said.
Orbán got even bigger applause while rejecting the notion people can identify as the gender they were not assigned at birth.
“The mother is a woman, the father is a man, and leave our kids alone. Full stop. End of discussion,” he said.
Telling Globalists ‘Go to Hell’
Orbán received huge applause, and a standing ovation while denouncing “globalists” onstage.
“We have seen what kind of future the globalist, ruling class has to offer. But we have a different future in mind,” Orbán said. “The globalists can all go to hell, I have come to Texas.”
Elsewhere during his speech, the crowd booed when Orbán mentioned the billionaire Democratic philanthropist George Soros. Orbán also only received lukewarm applause when he expressed “full solidarity” for Ukraine amid the invasion of Russia.
Newsweek reached out to the Conservative Political Action Conference for comment.
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