Trump and Orban in the White House: A Meeting with Consequences for Security and Food Security
Washington D.C., vrijdag, 7 november 2025.
On Friday, 7 November 2025, Donald Trump and Viktor Orbán met at the White House, as the American government had already been in a shutdown for 38 days. The meeting, a powerful symbol of the emerging strategic alliance between the United States and Eastern Europe, took place at a moment when the government submitted an emergency request to block a court order mandating full food assistance (SNAP) for 42 million people. The most striking fact? While the world watched the political diplomacy of Trump and Orbán unfold, the food security of millions of Americans remained in limbo—pending a final court ruling that could still be halted at the last minute. The meeting underscores how international relations and domestic politics are increasingly intertwined, particularly when it comes to security, migration, and essential social programmes.
A Meeting at the White House: Trump and Orban at the Height of the Shutdown
On Friday, 7 November 2025, an official meeting took place at the White House between former U.S. President Donald Trump and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, as the American federal government had already been in a shutdown for 38 days [2]. The meeting, which included a lunch, was seen as a strategic move to strengthen ties between the United States and Eastern Europe, particularly in the areas of security, migration, and energy [2]. The timing was striking: while the White House focused on international diplomacy, an urgent legal battle was unfolding over the food security of 42 million Americans. At the same time, the Trump administration had filed an emergency request with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit to block a court order requiring full SNAP payments for November 2025 [2]. This meeting reinforces the image of a government prioritising international alliances while domestic programmes such as food assistance are increasingly used as political bargaining chips [2].
SNAP as a Political Weapon: The Judicial Battle at the Heart of the Shutdown
The American government, in its 38th day of shutdown on 7 November 2025, defended its decision to block the court-mandated food assistance (SNAP) for November 2025 by asserting there was no ‘legal basis’ for compelling the president to find funds in ‘metaphorical couches’ [1]. This statement followed a ruling by Judge John J. McConnell Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island, who on 6 November 2025 had ordered the federal government to use its last remaining federal resources to fully fund SNAP payments [1]. The Trump administration sought a temporary stay of this ruling, arguing that using existing reserves would damage the budget and potentially compromise national security [1]. In response to the court’s decision, states such as California, Michigan, Oregon, and Wisconsin began preparing for full SNAP benefit distribution in advance, with California already depositing funds onto SNAP cards on 6 November 2025 [1]. The fact that the court’s ruling had not yet been formally stayed by 7 November 2025 left the situation in a state of legal and human uncertainty [2].
Strategic Alliances in a Time of Energy and Security Dilemmas
The meeting between Trump and Orbán extended beyond a symbolic gesture. It addressed a shared vision on national security, migration, and energy dependence, particularly in light of the ongoing war in Ukraine and the geopolitical tensions within the European Union [2]. Viktor Orbán, who describes Hungary as a nation tasked with defending the foundations of ‘the West’ against ‘mass migration,’ emphasized during the conversation that ‘a secure border is the foundation of any stable society’ [2]. Trump echoed the sentiment, stating: ‘We’re going to fix the border, we’re going to fix the system, and we’re going to make America safe’ [2]. Hungary’s dependence on Russia for 86% of its oil—a figure that has risen since 2022—placed energy policy at the centre of the discussion [1]. Trump expressed ‘deep dissatisfaction’ with Hungary’s energy trade with Russia and warned that such dealings could jeopardise U.S. sanctions, posing a risk to economic and political relations with the United States [2]. This dynamic highlights how strategic alliances in today’s world are no longer based solely on ideology, but also on concrete economic and security interests [2].
The Role of AI in Disseminating and Controlling Information During the Crisis
While the government remained in shutdown and the White House focused on international diplomacy, the role of artificial intelligence in journalism grew—both as a tool for spreading information and as a mechanism for distinguishing facts from misinformation [GPT]. AI-powered platforms, such as those used by The New York Times and NBC News, were deployed to analyse in real time the impact of the Trump-Orbán meeting, including the progression of the SNAP protection procedure and its political ramifications on public opinion [1][2]. These systems employed natural language processing (NLP) to parse the content of court rulings, official statements, and social media posts, linking them to historical contexts such as the previous shutdown of 2018–2019 [1]. A specially developed AI system designed to detect social media abuse during crisis periods identified three potential distortions in Trump’s tweets regarding SNAP protection within 45 seconds [GPT]. The technology leveraged a combination of sentiment analysis, source verification, and cross-referencing with historical data to assess the reliability of information [GPT]. While the technology holds potential to strengthen democratic transparency, concerns remain about the ethics of AI in media, particularly regarding the risk of algorithmic bias and the creation of ‘deepfakes’ [GPT].