Vice President JD Vance is visiting Hungary to offer his support and promote the country’s PM Viktor Orban, who has remained in power for the last 16 years. However, this time, Orban is finding the election more challenging, and therefore, it is no surprise that President Trump, who is one of the leader’s supporters, has sent Vance to help him with his campaign.
As Vance attended a press conference in Budapest on Tuesday with Orban, he alleged that Ukrainian intelligence was meddling with American and Hungarian elections.
Vance said, “We are certainly aware there are elements within the Ukrainian intelligence services that try to put their thumb on the scale on American elections, on Hungarian elections. This is just what they do. This is part of the cost of doing business within some elements of their system.”
He then added, “I try to remind myself that Ukraine, like the United States, is a very complicated place. There are good people, and there are bad people. Some people try to interfere in others’ elections. And there are people who actually just say, you know what, we believe in sovereignty for everybody. And that’s what we support.”
Likely a statement drafted in the Kremlin, JD Vance says almighty “Ukrainian intelligence” is rigging elections in both the US and Hungary. pic.twitter.com/XFK1fm6ppE
— Jay in Kyiv (@JayinKyiv) April 7, 2026
Vance continued, “For example, there were people in the Ukrainian system who were campaigning with Democrats literally in the weeks before the presidential election, where Donald Trump won very comfortably in November of 2024.”
Concluding his statement, Vance said, “So I’m aware of that stuff, but I don’t think Victor lets that stuff get to him. I don’t let that stuff get to me. We’re here to try to solve the problems for the people that we represent. And whatever certain elements within the Ukrainian system think about me or think about anybody else, I really believe it’s in the best interest of Ukraine, the best interest of Europe and Hungary, the best interest of the United States for this war to come to as rapid of a close.”
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Vance’s comments were met with some skepticism and criticism from netizens, as one user commented, “Likely a statement drafted in the Kremlin, JD Vance says almighty ‘Ukrainian intelligence’ is rigging elections in both the US and Hungary.”
Another one added, “Rigging elections?” That’s rich, coming from Vance, who wouldn’t have a job if the last US election hadn’t been rigged by Russia and Elon Musk. You can always tell a person’s character by the company they keep – and the elections they interfere in.”
It should be noted here that experts have previously pointed out that Russia has a higher chance of meddling with elections than Ukraine. Vance’s comments on Ukraine, therefore throws a rather bad light on the US-Ukraine relationship since President Trump’s claims of stopping the Ukraine-Russia war have also not been fulfilled.
