Orban's loss in Hungary gives us a Playbook to Crush MAGA!!

There are very helpful lessons here!

For years I’ve written about Viktor Orban’s efforts to dismantle democracy in Hungary in an effort to retain permanent power. Orban’s actions have been especially instructive for us since he has been a model for today’s GOP—and his programs inspired a great deal of Project 2025. That is why Orban’s huge loss on Sunday provides us with lessons for how we can destroy MAGA.

Over the past 16 years that Orban had been in power, many candidates and coalitions have challenged Orban—only to lose. And each year it seemed less likely that Orban would be defeated given he and his oligarchs had taken control of the media, used the government to crackdown on dissent and controlled the judiciary.

So how is that 45-year-old Peter Magyar could finally slay the dragon? And very importantly for us, what lessons can we take from this win to help us defeat the Orban loving GOP in 2026 and beyond?! Well here you go.

Lesson #1: Massive voter turnout! Nearly 80% of people eligible to vote in Hungary cast a ballot—that is the biggest turnout since Hungary broke free from the Soviet Union in 1989. The results were staggering with Magyar’s Tisza party winning 138 seats of the 199 seat Parliament (54% of the vote). Orban’s Fidesz party only won a pathetic 55 seats—which was 37% of the vote.

The record turnout and overwhelming results were why Orban conceded quickly. There was no way he could try to pull a Donald Trump and attempt to overturn the elections. The lesson is we need to come out in huge numbers in 2026 and beyond. We must make it “Too big to rig.”

Lesson #2: Despite Orban’s media control, Magyar was still able to get his message out by being creative and daring. In Hungary, according to press watchdog Reporters Without Borders, Orban has used media buyouts by government-connected “oligarchs” to build “a true media empire subject to his party’s orders.” They estimate that Orban effectively controls about 80% of the media market.

So what did Magyar do to bypass that stranglehold on the media? A few things. He utilized social media to speak directly to the people. In addition, he created unique, creative events that grabbed attention that the media had to cover. For example, in the lead up to the June 2024 European elections, Magyar visited every single municipality in the nation. And during the current campaign, he walked for ten days from the capital of Budapest to the Romanian border—passing through small towns that tended to vote for Orban’s party in the past to make inroads. In addition, while small in reach, Magyar did reach out to independent media to amplify his message.

The lesson is clear for Democrats given that we are seeing Trump’s oligarchs increasingly buy media outlets—while others in corporate media have bent the knee to Trump out of fear. And that lesson is create unique, provocative events, utilize social media and lean into independent media outlets.

Lesson #3: Anti-Corruption messages work when coupled with pledging prosecutions! One of the central themes of Magyar’s campaign was taking on the rank corruption of Orban. Magyar was seen as having credibility on this issue given he had up until two years ago been part of the Fidesz machine and his then wife was a high ranking Fidesz party official.

Magyar denounced what he called “Orban’s Versailles,” a vast walled-off estate with mansions owned by the prime minister’s family. This issue was crystalized by drone footage of the home of Orban’s father that gave people a glimpse of the staggering wealth amassed by his inner circle--as most in Hungary have become poorer. What jumped out were images of zebras running across the property which per experts “became a symbol of the limitless corruption of the whole system.” The zebra—be it stuffed toy animals to images painted on walls—became an avatar for Orban’s corruption.

Magyar though did more than just harp on Orban and his oligarch’s corruption. He pledged to investigate those involved. He has vowed to rejoin the European Public Prosecutor’s Office which investigates transnational and complex financial crimes—a point he reiterated in his victory speech on Sunday. In addition, he will set up a National Office for Asset Recovery and Protection and order asset checks going back 20 years, covering all MPs, ministers, and the prime minister.

The lesson is if Democrats talk Trump’s corruption—they need to also demand prosecutions. It’s not enough to cite the recent NY Times reporting that Trump and his family have made nearly $1.5 billion in one year using the office of the White House. As the Times noted, “The vast majority of his new wealth has come from crypto investment projects run by the Trump family including World Liberty Financial, stablecoin USD1, meme coin tokens.” Democrats should commit to prosecuting all in the Trump circle—including Donald—who illegally profited during the Trump regime.

Lesson #4: The economy might still be the key to it all! Unemployment in Hungary is at its highest in 10 years and economic growth last year was awful at just 0.4 percent—far behind that of Poland which grew at 3.6%. Inflation has been rising faster than salaries public services, especially health care and education, have been in steady decline. As one Hungarian political expert explained, “People are really feeling the bite of poor economic performance and while hearing news stories about corruption and immense wealth inequalities.”

Sounds like America, right? That is by design because the GOP has copied Orban’s playbook. That is why Democrats can copy the opposition’s playbook and not just talk about the economy in the US—which only 32% of Americans say is “good” per a new CBS poll. But also that Trump and people around him like Jared Kushner, his sons and his oligarchs have raked in big money while the rest of us struggle. Democrats need to tap into that anger!

Hungary and the United States are vastly different in terms of population—with Hungary at less than 10 million and US at 340 million. But there are still lessons to be gleaned from Sunday’s election that can help us win in 2026. And the biggest one is Democrats need to be as creative, daring and inspiring as Peter Magyar--because that is what animates voters to come out in huge numbers!

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For those interested in watching a discussion on these issues, below was my YOU Are my guest segment Sunday where I discussed the results with viewers:

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