President Donald Trump’s Iran war policy has strained relationships with some European conservative and far-right figures who previously saw the Trump administration as an ally, according to an Associated Press report. The article said the backlash reflects a growing sense of revulsion at the war and a break with earlier hopes that nationalist politics in Europe and the United States could be aligned in a new international order.
The rift has emerged even as Trump has maintained close connections with some leaders, the AP reported. Vice President JD Vance campaigned for Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán this week, a display Orbán’s allies once expected would become a template for other nationalist partners. Instead, the AP said factions in Europe that had been viewed as MAGA-compatible have increasingly signaled distaste for Trump’s Iran war.
The AP reported that Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni refused to allow the United States to use an air base in Sicily to launch attacks on Iran. In the same account, France’s National Rally leader Marine Le Pen described Trump’s war goals as “erratic,” and the head of Germany’s Alternative for Germany party called for American troops to leave their bases in Germany.
The changes come against the background of a fragile ceasefire with Iran, the AP reported, but the article said Trump’s support for Orbán may not translate into political insulation for the Hungarian leader. The AP said Orbán faces a tough election this weekend, and his relationship with Trump—long used to bolster his image with voters—could also draw more anti-Trump backlash than he expects.
Charles Kupchan, a Georgetown University professor of international relations and a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, told the AP that “Getting a blessing from Donald Trump is now a mixed blessing.” Kupchan said Europe’s far-right parties may have political staying power based on national factors rather than on the support of American leaders, suggesting that Trump’s influence could be limited even when it appears to help.
The AP also linked the Iran-war backlash to earlier European frustration with Trump’s threats about NATO ally Denmark and Greenland. The article said Trump tied the two issues together on Wednesday, complaining that NATO didn’t help enough in recent weeks and writing on social media, “NATO WASN’T THERE WHEN WE NEEDED THEM, AND THEY WON’T BE THERE IF WE NEED THEM AGAIN,” and “REMEMBER GREENLAND, THAT BIG, POORLY RUN, PIECE OF ICE!!!”
Orbán, for his part, has projected caution in how he talks about Trump’s Iran war, the AP reported. In an interview with conservative British broadcaster GB News last month, Orbán said, “the question is whether (Trump) has started a war or a peace,” adding: “It hasn’t (been) decided yet, historians will make a decision on that.” He also said, “I think we need some time to understand whether we are moving to the peace by these strikes, or just the opposite. It’s too early to say.”
The AP said Orbán’s approach toward Trump has not only reflected shared ideology but also a strategy rooted in how he persuades voters. For years, the article reported, Orbán has sought to present his close relationship with Trump—along with ties to other international figures including Russian President Vladimir Putin—as making him well positioned to represent Hungary’s interests abroad. The AP said that campaign pitch has helped him reassure supporters that his alliance with Trump’s administration is a guarantee of security and prosperity.
The AP reported that analysts were divided on whether Vance’s visit will help Orbán, suggesting it could also undermine him. Mario Bikarsku, a senior Europe analyst at risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft, told the AP that Vance’s visit “could have the opposite effect on Orbán’s popularity than the one intended.” The AP also reported that Kupchan said many far-right parties have developed their own “political staying power” independently of American influence, even while Trump’s effort to build a transnational movement could affect party margins.
Orbán’s alignment with Trump remains visible in the politics of Hungary’s ruling Fidesz party, which has been in power for 16 years, the AP reported. Kupchan said, “We’re living in an age,” where “being an incumbent sucks,” suggesting that anti-incumbent sentiment could jeopardize Orbán even if he benefits from attention and approval from U.S. officials. The AP said Vance criticized Orbán critics in the European Union for what he called “foreign interference” in Hungary’s election, while stumping for Orbán.
As the war in the Middle East continues and European politics harden around it, the AP reported that the practical impact of Trump’s relationships with European nationalists could depend less on shared ideology than on how voters and competing political forces respond to the Iran conflict. The AP’s account suggested that for Orbán, the challenge is balancing the political value of Trump’s support with the risk that anti-Trump sentiment may spread even to him, despite his record of standing out from the shifting tide in Europe.