Will you stand for sovereignty and democracy, for truth and for the God of our forefathers?” Vance asked the Hungarian voters, cheered on by a standing ovation and whoops reverberating around the city’s MTK Sportpark arena. “Then, my friends, go to the polls this weekend, stand with Viktor Orbán, because he stands for you, and he stands for all these things.”

Vance flew to Hungary ostensibly to celebrate a “Hungarian-American friendship day.” In effect, he was the star attraction at a rally for Orbán, the Hungarian prime minister and a MAGA favorite, who is trailing in the polls days before Sunday’s nationwide election.

Orbán’s challenger is Peter Magyar, who was once a member of Orbán’s Fidesz party but now accuses him of rampant corruption. If polls are accurate, Magyar’s Tisza party is poised to assume power in the parliamentary vote.

Taking a break from talks to end the Iran war, Vance arrived in the midst of a febrile campaign. He said the U.S. would work with whoever wins before he joked that he knew Orbán would prevail anyway.

“We have got to get Viktor Orbán re-elected as prime minister of Hungary, don’t we?” Vance asked. Earlier, he had accused the European Union of “foreign election interference,” referring to the E.U.’s freezing of billions of euros in funding over Hungary’s democratic backsliding.

The irony was not lost on some observers.

“He is so openly campaigning for Orbán at this point that it cannot be seen as a regular state visit,” said Samuel Barczy, 27, one of a handful of protesters outside Vance’s speech.

“As you can see there’s not many demonstrators,” he told NBC News near Sandor Palace, the neoclassical presidential residence where Vance and Orbán held their earlier news conference. “But that’s because not many Hungarians know who Vance is.”

Indeed, it is highly unusual for a senior U.S. politician — or any figure from a Western country — to fly into the final days of a foreign election campaign to boost an ailing ally. E.U. spokesman Thomas Regnier responded to Vance’s visit and criticism by saying in a statement that “in Europe, elections are the sole choice of the citizens.”

Vance’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. On Wednesday, he defended himself against allegations of foreign interference at an event in Budapest.

"Foreign influence is when other governments threaten, cajole and try to use economic influence to tell you how to vote," he said. "Whether you like Viktor Orbán or not, whether you agree with this or that policy, that is fundamentally an assault on your sovereignty."

He is far from the only right-wing figure trying to keep their pioneer in power. An Orbán video this year showed a compilation of endorsements from the likes of Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu, Argentina’s Javier Milei and France’s Marine le Pen.

Orbán has claimed “deep involvement” in crafting President Donald Trump’s message and political strategy. But more than that, he is a trailblazer for the international populist far right, railing against immigration, Muslims, the LGBTQ community and green policies. If anything, he plays into that image as the bête noire of mainstream politicians, branding his administration as an “illiberal democracy.”