Hungary's Orbán urges Trump to 'keep on fighting' after conviction

Former US President Donald Trump address the press before entering the court as closing arguments are made in civil fraud trial. A jury in New York on 30 May found Trump guilty of falsifying business records in a trial over the concealment of hush money payments in the run-up to the 2016 election, making him the first former US president convicted of a criminal offence. Laura Brett/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

Hungary's right-wing populist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has praised former US president Donald Trump following his criminal conviction.

"I’ve known President Donald Trump to be a man of honour. As president, he always put America first, he commanded respect around the world and used this respect to build peace," Orbán wrote on X. "Let the people make their verdict this November! Keep on fighting, Mr. President!"

A jury in New York on Thursday found Trump guilty on all 34 counts of concealing hush money paid to a porn star. It is the first time in the history of the United States that a current of former US president has been held criminally accountable.

Trump and Orbán regularly publicly praise each other. Orbán was the only head of government of an EU country to openly declare his support for the Republican even before Trump's election as president in 2016.

In a visit they raised eyebrows in the US and EU, Orbán travelled to meet Trump at his luxury Florida resort in March.

The two right-wing populists have a lot in common politically. Trump's former chief adviser Steve Bannon once described the Hungarian as "Trump before Trump." Orbán has been in power in Hungary since 2010.