Rubio says Trump backs Orbán

Trump’s best friend in Europe counts on White House to stay in power

Hungary’s right-wing populist prime minister has long been a thorn in the side of the European Union - and he could also be a sign of things to come.

Reposts 2 3h

Kathimerini

Rubio and Trump offer full support to Orban ahead of elections

Energy cooperation agreements with the United States were signed, while Hungary retains the license to purchase Russian oil that had been granted to it by the U.S. president.

Reposts 1 3h

El Pais

The United States tightens ties with European populists in its offensive against the European project

Rubio visits the Hungarian nationalist-populist Viktor Orbán in Budapest, who faces elections in April. 'His success is our success,' he says.

Reposts 0 3h

by Trita Parsi

50%

Scholar power: 50.8%

Story's scientific field profile

Political science 79%, Communication & Media Studies 11%, History 10%

Name	Field match	H-index	Scholar power
🎓 Trita Parsi	64%	7	50.8%

Formula for scholar power: 3 × author's field match × √author's h-index

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Reposts

Scholar power

48.0%

4.1 h

17

50.8%

Ranking score

0.35

Formula for ranking score (post): scholar_power × max((total_reposts)^(1/3), 1) × (1 / max(hours_since_posted, 1)) × (raw_relevance)^3

Dagens Næringsliv

Golden Ages

What kind of Europe does the Trump administration want? Marco Rubio's visit to Budapest provides clearer answers than the speech he gave in Munich.

Reposts 0 5h

Reposted by James S. Shortle

3%

Scholar power: 3%

Story's scientific field profile

Political science 79%, Communication & Media Studies 11%, History 10%

Name	Field match	H-index	Scholar power
🎓 James S. Shortle	-	40	-

by Alan Sked

57%

Scholar power: 57.7%

Story's scientific field profile

Political science 79%, Communication & Media Studies 11%, History 10%

Name	Field match	H-index	Scholar power
🎓 Alan Sked	58%	11	57.7%

Formula for scholar power: 3 × author's field match × √author's h-index

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Scholar power

65.0%

7.6 h

0

57.7%

Ranking score

0.2

Formula for ranking score (post): scholar_power × max((total_reposts)^(1/3), 1) × (1 / max(hours_since_posted, 1)) × (raw_relevance)^3

by Anders Aslund

112%

Scholar power: 112.0%

Story's scientific field profile

Political science 79%, Communication & Media Studies 11%, History 10%

Name	Field match	H-index	Scholar power
🎓 Anders Aslund	64%	34	112.0%

Formula for scholar power: 3 × author's field match × √author's h-index

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Scholar power

60.0%

8.0 h

33

112.0%

Ranking score

1.26

Formula for ranking score (post): scholar_power × max((total_reposts)^(1/3), 1) × (1 / max(hours_since_posted, 1)) × (raw_relevance)^3

Reposted by Bessma Momani, W Grant

19%

Scholar power: 19.1%

Story's scientific field profile

Political science 79%, Communication & Media Studies 11%, History 10%

Name	Field match	H-index	Scholar power
🎓 Bessma Momani	33%	24	16.2%
🎓 W Grant	8%	13	2.9%
Total			19.1%

Formula for scholar power: sum of each reposter's field match × √reposter's h-index

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Scholar power

61.0%

8.1 h

147

19.1%

Ranking score

0.255

Formula for ranking score (post): scholar_power × max((total_reposts)^(1/3), 1) × (1 / max(hours_since_posted, 1)) × (raw_relevance)^3

Jay Rosen

@jayrosen.bsky.social

Via PBS News Hour, Marco Rubio, US Secretary of State, today endorsed Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

"Your sucess is our sucess," Rubio said.

Orbán, of course, has been the model for controlling the news media as a way to stay in power.

www.pbs.org/newshour/wor...

Viktor Orbán’s Hail Mary.

I was editor in chief of Hungary’s most-read independent daily until a pro-government media network bought the newspaper. It’s the fifth time in thirty years that politics has cost me my job—and it’s ...

www.cjr.org

February 17, 2026 at 12:32 AM

La Repubblica

Rubio's assist to his friend Orbán irks Brussels

The Secretary of State left the Munich conference without meeting Kaja Kallas, then met in Bratislava and Budapest with the EU's most Trumpist leaders.

Reposts 0 8h

Reposted by Henry Jones

3%

Scholar power: 3.6%

Story's scientific field profile

Political science 79%, Communication & Media Studies 11%, History 10%

Name	Field match	H-index	Scholar power
🎓 Henry Jones	11%	11	3.6%

Formula for scholar power: sum of each reposter's field match × √reposter's h-index

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Scholar power

54.0%

9.0 h

79

3.6%

Ranking score

0.025

Formula for ranking score (post): scholar_power × max((total_reposts)^(1/3), 1) × (1 / max(hours_since_posted, 1)) × (raw_relevance)^3

The Bulwark

@thebulwark.com

"It is white nationalist agit prop—and he's Cuban...I don't really know any other way to describe what he's doing. He's doing it in Germany, too, just to throw it out there."

@timmiller.bsky.social and @billkristolbulwark.bsky.social on Rubio's futile attempt to make Trump foreign policy palatable.

February 16, 2026 at 11:34 PM

by Anders Aslund

112%

Scholar power: 112.0%

Story's scientific field profile

Political science 79%, Communication & Media Studies 11%, History 10%

Name	Field match	H-index	Scholar power
🎓 Anders Aslund	64%	34	112.0%

Formula for scholar power: 3 × author's field match × √author's h-index

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Reposts

Scholar power

57.0%

10.3 h

28

112.0%

Ranking score

0.656

Formula for ranking score (post): scholar_power × max((total_reposts)^(1/3), 1) × (1 / max(hours_since_posted, 1)) × (raw_relevance)^3

by Anders Aslund

112%

Scholar power: 112.0%

Story's scientific field profile

Political science 79%, Communication & Media Studies 11%, History 10%

Name	Field match	H-index	Scholar power
🎓 Anders Aslund	64%	34	112.0%

Formula for scholar power: 3 × author's field match × √author's h-index

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Reposts

Scholar power

56.0%

10.5 h

110

112.0%

Ranking score

1.0

Formula for ranking score (post): scholar_power × max((total_reposts)^(1/3), 1) × (1 / max(hours_since_posted, 1)) × (raw_relevance)^3

by Anders Aslund

112%

Scholar power: 112.0%

Story's scientific field profile

Political science 79%, Communication & Media Studies 11%, History 10%

Name	Field match	H-index	Scholar power
🎓 Anders Aslund	64%	34	112.0%

Formula for scholar power: 3 × author's field match × √author's h-index

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Scholar power

47.0%

10.6 h

74

112.0%

Ranking score

0.465

Formula for ranking score (post): scholar_power × max((total_reposts)^(1/3), 1) × (1 / max(hours_since_posted, 1)) × (raw_relevance)^3

by Alberto Alemanno

68%

Scholar power: 68.9%

Story's scientific field profile

Political science 79%, Communication & Media Studies 11%, History 10%

Name	Field match	H-index	Scholar power
🎓 Alberto Alemanno	49%	22	68.9%

Formula for scholar power: 3 × author's field match × √author's h-index

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Scholar power

47.0%

11.0 h

17

68.9%

Ranking score

0.169

Formula for ranking score (post): scholar_power × max((total_reposts)^(1/3), 1) × (1 / max(hours_since_posted, 1)) × (raw_relevance)^3

Reposted by Mohan J. Dutta

11%

Scholar power: 11.5%

Story's scientific field profile

Political science 79%, Communication & Media Studies 11%, History 10%

Name	Field match	H-index	Scholar power
🎓 Mohan J. Dutta	16%	52	11.5%

Formula for scholar power: sum of each reposter's field match × √reposter's h-index

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Reposts

Scholar power

50.0%

11.0 h

4357

11.5%

Ranking score

0.192

Formula for ranking score (post): scholar_power × max((total_reposts)^(1/3), 1) × (1 / max(hours_since_posted, 1)) × (raw_relevance)^3

by Andrew Watt

47%

Scholar power: 47.6%

Story's scientific field profile

Political science 79%, Communication & Media Studies 11%, History 10%

Name	Field match	H-index	Scholar power
🎓 Andrew Watt	30%	28	47.6%

Formula for scholar power: 3 × author's field match × √author's h-index

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Scholar power

58.0%

11.1 h

1

47.6%

Ranking score

0.079

Formula for ranking score (post): scholar_power × max((total_reposts)^(1/3), 1) × (1 / max(hours_since_posted, 1)) × (raw_relevance)^3

Andrew Watt

@andrewwatteu.bsky.social

Update
Some further context to judge Rubio's speech and the fawning reaction to it in Munich. What "Little Marco" thought of Viktor Orban in 2019...

bsky.app/profile/mijr...

Mujtaba Rahman @mijrahman.bsky.social · 11h

Remember when Rubio criticised Hungary's democratic backsliding?

What changed? Certainly not Hungary's democratic backsliding

February 16, 2026 at 9:33 PM

Reposted by Andrew Watt

15%

Scholar power: 15.9%

Story's scientific field profile

Political science 79%, Communication & Media Studies 11%, History 10%

Name	Field match	H-index	Scholar power
🎓 Andrew Watt	30%	28	15.9%

Formula for scholar power: sum of each reposter's field match × √reposter's h-index

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Recency

Reposts

Scholar power

48.0%

11.2 h

0

15.9%

Ranking score

0.015

Formula for ranking score (post): scholar_power × max((total_reposts)^(1/3), 1) × (1 / max(hours_since_posted, 1)) × (raw_relevance)^3

Mujtaba Rahman

@mijrahman.bsky.social

Remember when Rubio criticised Hungary's democratic backsliding?

What changed? Certainly not Hungary's democratic backsliding

February 16, 2026 at 9:24 PM

by Oliver Stuenkel Reposted by Andrés Malamud

104%

Scholar power: 104.3%

Story's scientific field profile

Political science 79%, Communication & Media Studies 11%, History 10%

Name	Field match	H-index	Scholar power
🎓 Oliver Stuenkel	55%	20	73.8%
🎓 Andrés Malamud	65%	22	30.5%
Total			104.3%

Formula for scholar power: 3 × author's field match × √author's h-index + sum of each reposter's field match × √reposter's h-index

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Reposts

Scholar power

48.0%

11.6 h

87

104.3%

Ranking score

0.426

Formula for ranking score (post): scholar_power × max((total_reposts)^(1/3), 1) × (1 / max(hours_since_posted, 1)) × (raw_relevance)^3

Reposted by Anne Applebaum

13%

Scholar power: 13.8%

Story's scientific field profile

Political science 79%, Communication & Media Studies 11%, History 10%

Name	Field match	H-index	Scholar power
🎓 Anne Applebaum	46%	9	13.8%

Formula for scholar power: sum of each reposter's field match × √reposter's h-index

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Reposts

Scholar power

66.0%

11.7 h

193

13.8%

Ranking score

0.192

Formula for ranking score (post): scholar_power × max((total_reposts)^(1/3), 1) × (1 / max(hours_since_posted, 1)) × (raw_relevance)^3

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Rubio says Trump backs Orbán

Trump’s best friend in Europe counts on White House to stay in power

Rubio and Trump offer full support to Orban ahead of elections

The United States tightens ties with European populists in its offensive against the European project

Golden Ages

Rubio's assist to his friend Orbán irks Brussels

Add to Home Screen

Light upyour news

Rubio says Trump backs Orbán

Trump’s best friend in Europe counts on White House to stay in power

Rubio and Trump offer full support to Orban ahead of elections

The United States tightens ties with European populists in its offensive against the European project

Scholar power: 50.8%

Golden Ages

Scholar power: 3%

Scholar power: 57.7%

Scholar power: 112.0%

Scholar power: 19.1%

Rubio's assist to his friend Orbán irks Brussels

Scholar power: 3.6%

Scholar power: 112.0%

Scholar power: 112.0%

Scholar power: 112.0%

Scholar power: 68.9%

Scholar power: 11.5%

Scholar power: 47.6%

Scholar power: 15.9%

Scholar power: 104.3%

Scholar power: 13.8%

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