Sen. J.D. Vance Says The U.S. 'Could Learn From' Viktor Orbán's Policies

Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), a top contender to be Donald Trump’s running mate in the 2024 election, on Sunday said the U.S. “could learn from” Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán when it comes to addressing what he describes as U.S. universities’ left-wing bias.

In an interview with CBS’s “Face the Nation,” Vance argued that American universities are “controlled by left-wing foundations.”

“They’re not controlled by the American taxpayer and yet the American taxpayer is sending hundreds of billions of dollars to these universities every single year,” he added.

When asked by CBS’s Margaret Brennan whether he would want the federal government to have direct control over academic institutions, Vance replied he believes taxpayers ought “to have a say in how their money is spent.”

“Universities are part of a social contract in this country,” he said. “But if they’re not educating our children well, and they’re layering the next generation down in mountains of student debt, then they’re not meeting their end of the bargain. I think it’s totally reasonable to say there needs to be a political solution to that problem.”

While Vance said he didn’t endorse every single policy Orbán has implemented, he added: “I do think that he’s made some smart decisions there that we could learn from in the United States.”

Hungary, in 2021, transferred control of 11 public universities to semi-public foundations led by Orbán’s allies, in a move that the government’s critics said was designed to ensure the conservative leader maintains significant influence over institutions that were independent.

But in an interview with The European Conservative earlier this year, Vance seemed to appreciate his approach.

“The closest that conservatives have ever