Obama Goes After Trump Again After Key Elections Called…!
Former President Barack Obama celebrated the defeat of a Trump-backed candidate in Hungary’s recent election, reigniting their public dispute over democracy and foreign policy.
Hungarian voters elected opposition leader Peter Magyar, ending the 16-year tenure of Prime Minister Viktor Orban, whom the Trump administration had openly supported. Vice President JD Vance traveled to Hungary days before the election to boost backing for Orban, but Magyar secured a decisive victory.
Obama posted on X that Magyar’s victory represented a win for democracy across Europe and the world. “The victory of the opposition in Hungary yesterday, like the Polish election in 2023, is a victory for democracy, not just in Europe but around the world,” Obama wrote, highlighting the Hungarian people’s commitment to fairness and the rule of law.
The election marks another moment of friction between the two former and current administrations, following months of escalating disagreements over multiple policy areas.
Trump used recent public appearances to criticize Obama’s 2015 Iran nuclear agreement, claiming it enabled Tehran to finance military operations threatening American and allied forces. At the FII PRIORITY Summit on Friday, Trump alleged Obama sent cash via airplane to Iran as part of the deal’s settlement terms.
“That Barack Hussein Obama, he had the Iran nuclear deal. He went to Iran, he paid them,” Trump said, referencing a $1.7 billion payment made during Obama’s administration. Trump described the funds as physical cash transported by aircraft, asserting the money equipped Iran to pursue hostile activities in the Middle East.
Obama’s administration justified the 2015 payment as restitution owed to Iran over a legal dispute stemming from a cancelled 1979 arms agreement. Trump terminated the nuclear agreement during his first term, and his administration is currently conducting military operations against Iranian military targets alongside Israel.
The disputes extend beyond election outcomes and foreign policy decisions. Obama has opposed Republican redistricting efforts in certain states while supporting similar initiatives in Democratic-controlled regions, according to reporting on the tensions.
Trump emphasized the significance of presidential authority during his remarks, stating the power to make such payments demonstrated the scope of executive action available to a sitting president.
This story has been updated. CNN’s Digital team contributed to this report.