Hungary's right-wing authoritarian leader will speak at CPAC conference in Dallas next month

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a right-wing authoritarian who's been widely decried as a dictator, is slated to speak at the upcoming Conservative Political Action Conference [CPAC] in Texas next month, as first reported by the Daily Caller.

"CPAC is proud to host Prime Minister Viktor Orban," Matt Schlapp, the head of the American Conservative Union and organizer of CPAC, told the right-wing news website. "The fight against socialism is a global one."

Joining Orban will be a slate of hard-right figures including former President Donald Trump and Republican U.S. Reps. Roger Williams and Ronny Jackson, both of Texas, according to CPAC's website.

Since coming to office in 2010, Orban has seized control of most independent media in the Hungary, along with its judicial system. He became Europe's longest-serving leader after changing legislation that effectively abolished term limits in the country.

According to the Daily Caller, Orban will touch on topics he discussed during a CPAC conference earlier this year in Budapest. During that speech, Orban emphasized the importance of controlling a nation's media.

"You can only present the stupidity of the leftist progressives if you have the media to do it," Orban told conference attendees. "Leftist opinion can only seem to be a majority because the media helps them to increase their voice."

Kim Lane Scheppele, a professor of sociology at Princeton University, described Orban as "the ultimate 21st-century dictator" during an interview with the New Yorker.

Even so, American conservatives, including Trump, have praised Orban's authoritarian approach.

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