Marjorie Taylor Greene has been condemned for praising Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban, who was re-elected at the weekend despite close ties to Russia’s Vladimir Putin.
On Monday, the Republican praised the Hungarian leader and said Mr Orban, who has been branded an “autocrat” by critics, was an example for Americans to follow.
“Congratulations to Viktor Orban on winning a victory well deserved!,” tweeted Ms Greene. “He’s leading Hungary the right way and we need this in America”.
On Sunday, Mr Orban was re-elected for a fourth term despite his historic sympathy for Mr Putin and attacks on LGBT+ individuals – including the introduction of a Russian-style law forbidding discussions about LGBT+ issues in schools, or “propaganda”.
Voters were presented with four questions on Sunday about teaching school-age children about “sexual orientation” and “sex reassignment therapy”, as well as the showing of “sexually explicit media” to minors.
Ms Greene, who has been a vocal critic of LGBT+ issues at home, added that “America should also ban sexually explicit media in sex-ed and all gender change information for minors under 18 intentionally confusing children.”
Her remarks were condemned by many on social media, one of whom wrote: “You never pass up the opportunity to praise and support the autocrats of the world.”
Another added: “I love when y’all talk about banning information using the internet as your soapbox, where literally all information exists for children to find. It’s like worrying about extinguishing a match in the middle of a forest fire.”
“Isn’t one wannabe dictator enough,” a third person wrote. “The 1st Amendment protect your right to be stupid, but not your right to be a traitor.”
Ms Greene has been a vocal supporter of laws targeting LGBT+ youth in the US, including the Florida bill dubbed “Don’t Say Gay”, which was signed into law last week despite criticism from human rights groups and the White House.
She said as recently as last week that she wanted to introduce a bill at the federal level banning discussions about LGBT+ issues in classrooms – with the ban drawing comparisons with Russian and Hungarian laws targeting LGBT+ individuals.
As have many Republicans called for the censorship of books mentioning same sex relationships and LGBT+ identities, with a particular focus on banning transgender children from school sports.
Campaigners and the European Union have meanwhile condemned Mr Orban ahead of this weekend’s elections for asking leading questions about LGBT+ issues, and for contravening values of tolerance and freedom. Many also argued that he had wrongly conflated LGBT+ individuals with pornography.
While the threshold for passing the laws banning discussions about “sexual orientation” did not reach a 50 per cent threshold, it is likely that Mr Orban will try to implement the measures, according to Bloomberg.
The Independent has approached Ms Greene for comment.
