UN Secretary-General Bid: US Officials Court Orbán for Moscow and Beijing Support

Washington is trying to put Viktor Orbán into the United Nations secretary-general's office.

The Trump administration did more than approve of the idea, according to the Wall Street Journal, which cites unnamed sources. Officials put the proposal to the former Hungarian prime minister themselves, then contacted him to ask whether he was interested. The journal reports that Orbán reacted positively, with conditions attached.

A State Department official conceded the plan sounds unusual at first. The same official said talks with Moscow and Beijing have led US officials to expect their backing, with the aim of running Orbán as a candidate all three countries can accept. Officials from the US and a second country noted that when the three powers want the same thing in the Security Council, they usually get it.

The State Department representative counted eight Security Council votes behind Orbán as secure, enough to pass comfortably, and said another 10 of the body's 15 members could be lined up. One American official called him "the dream MAGA-conservative candidate," pointing to his record on migration, liberal nonprofits, courts and the press. Another official said Orbán's record includes clashes with the European Union while taking its subsidies, and a pro-China line that has not cost him standing as a defender of Western civilization.

A representative of a second country described the other people running for the post as heavy on "secretary," with résumés built on international bureaucracy or quiet diplomacy, while Orbán would be a "general." A State Department representative said Orbán holds the right ideology, can hold power under hostile conditions and will not be rattled by the establishment. Orbán's path to the nomination runs through Donald Trump and JD Vance, both expected to back him.

Any announcement sits on hold until after the US midterm elections, according to a source familiar with the process. The current push for a UN secretary-general candidate comes as Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez calls for reforms to the organization and accountability mechanisms, and as leaders including Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul have raised objections to Security Council vetoes.