Video News Clips: In Their Own Words

Joe Scarborough Pounds Table During On-Air Meltdown Over JD Vance Visiting Hungarian PM

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“Morning Joe” co-host Joe Scarborough erupted Tuesday over Vice President J.D. Vance’s visit to Hungary, demanding Republicans stand up to “Russian authoritarianism.”

Vance announced in an April 2 release that he would visit Hungary on Tuesday and Wednesday, delivering remarks before a crowd of supporters of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Tuesday. Scarborough claimed that the Trump administration, by backing Orban, was aiding Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“Let’s talk about the collusion that’s going on right now between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin to elect Orban. You have, we had, last week, Michael Weiss on. They have a transcript of [Russian Foreign Minister Sergey] Lavrov talking to the foreign minister of Hungary, basically plotting and scheming to try to help Orban out before the election,” Scarborough shouted.

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“You have Donald Trump doing everything he can to, to, to, to get Orban elected,” Scarborough continued. “You have J.D. Vance over there again, Mr. Oh, We Believe in Western Civilization as I’m coming over here to drive a stake in the heart of Western civilization with the one guy who hates western liberalism and brags about being illiberal and Vladimir Putin’s biggest friend, Vladimir Putin’s only hope in the EU. And you have Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin both working to the same end to elect the most anti-democratic thug, and he is a thug, in all of Europe.”

Orban has been a bete noir of Democrats since he implemented border security policies to address illegal immigration and for opposing the European Union’s policies on immigration and migrants. Orban’s government reportedly trails in polling for the April 12 election, according to Reuters.

“Where are the Republicans? Where are the people that grew up, like, believing what I believed growing up, Richard?” Scarborough ranted, pounding the table. “Where are the people that believe in the west, people that believe in Western democracy, people that believe in Western liberalism, people that believed in a free press, people that believed in a free election, people that believed in a strong West that pushed back against Russian authoritarianism? Where are those Republicans in the Senate? Where are they in the House? Where are they on television? Where is my tribe?”

Former President Barack Obama’s foundation has targeted the supermajority government of Orban for defeat, as well as populist governments in Poland and Romania. Orban has been one of President Donald Trump’s closest allies in Europe.