Hungary's autocratic PM Orban addressing US conservatives

Hungary President Viktor Orban arrives at the NATO Heads of State summit in Madrid, June 30, 2022. Hungary's controversial prime minister is coming to the United States to address a gathering of conservative activists. Orban has become a hero to many on the right for his push against immigration, LGBTQ rights and progressives. (Bertrand Guay, Pool via AP)

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is expected to receive a big welcome in the U.S. on Thursday from conservative admirers barely a week after the backlash at home and in Europe over anti-migrant remarks that one of his closest associates compared to Nazi rhetoric.

Orban’s headline slot at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Dallas, one of the nation’s largest gatherings of conservative activists, has raised concerns about Republicans embracing an autocrat who has been criticized for undermining democratic institutions and consolidating power in his own country.

Other speakers include former President Donald Trump, Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Republican candidates fresh off GOP primary election victories Tuesday.