Senator praises HE decisions by Hungary’s authoritarian PM

Republican Senator JD Vance of Ohio, rumoured to be one of former president Donald Trump’s vice-presidential contenders, said on Sunday 19 May that the United States “could learn from” some decisions made by authoritarian Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, including controversial policies related to dealing with dissidents at universities, writes Kaia Hubbard for CBS News.

“On the university principle, the idea that taxpayers should have some influence in how their money is spent at these universities, it’s a totally reasonable thing, and I do think that he’s made some smart decisions there that we could learn from in the United States,” Vance said on Sunday on ‘Face the Nation’.

The Ohio Republican has previously praised Orbán’s approach to state universities in Hungary, saying his way could be the model for eliminating what he views as a left-wing bias at American universities. Orbán, who is revered in some hardline conservative circles, seized control of state universities, a move that critics say has extended his government’s right-wing influence. Vance claimed on Sunday that American universities are already “controlled by left-wing foundations”, rather than taxpayers. He said he’s advocating for “taxpayers to have a say in how their money is spent”.
Full report on the CBS News site