Right-wing populists in the U.S. have been building political ties across the Atlantic Ocean for years to support and learn from one another. Think President Trump, who developed a close relationship with former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
Now, 10 U.S. mayors from liberal cities are following suit, joining a group called the Pact of Free Cities, where they can share strategies with their European counterparts on how to defend democracy and fight authoritarianism.
The American cities, including Boston, Chicago, San Antonio and Cincinnati, joined the pact virtually or in person last week for its annual meeting in Bratislava, Slovakia.
"I've joined the Pact of Free Cities because of the actions of the Trump administration that continue to not just have democratic institutions and democratic values backslide in our country, but also the destruction of long-standing relationships all over the world, but particularly with our European counterparts," said Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval.
The mayors of Bratislava, Budapest, Prague and Warsaw founded the group in 2019 to stand up for progressive values and brainstorm on how to deal with what they see as hostile national governments.
How to defeat a right-wing populist
At last week's meeting, Gergely Karácsony, the mayor of Budapest, shared lessons from the recent defeat of Orbán, who many political analysts say developed an authoritarian playbook that has informed some of Trump's efforts to undermine the U.S. system of checks and balances. Karácsony said one of the turning points came last year when the Hungarian government tried to ban the annual Pride parade in Budapest.
"This was meant partly to intimidate people and partly to provoke a debate that would divert political discussion away from economic problems toward symbolic issues," Karácsony said.
Instead of engaging with Orbán's government over LGBTQ rights, Karácsony said the city took over the parade and made it about something bigger: the right to free speech and free assembly. Tens of thousands of people defied the Hungarian government and marched across the city.
Karácsony said the defiance exposed Orbán's political weakness and contributed to his defeat last month, ending 16 years in office.
Federal funding, trash trucks and DEI
Lacey Beaty, the progressive mayor of Beaverton, Ore., flew across nine time zones for last week's meeting. Upon returning home, she told NPR the trip was worth it.
"It was unexpectedly collaborative and just really underlined that a lot of the issues we're facing here in the United States, other cities are facing, too," she said.
Beaty said those challenges include funding cuts by federal governments that don't like cities' liberal politics. For instance, she said the Trump administration tried to cut a chunk of funding to Beaverton because it refused to dump its DEI policy.
Karácsony said Orbán's government put similar pressure on Budapest, threatening city services such as garbage pickup. The mayor responded by putting big signs on the sides of trash trucks that pointed the finger at Orbán and his Fidesz party.
"Who would not want this bin to be emptied tomorrow?" the signs read.
Beaty said this illustrates why mayors need precise messaging to tell residents when the federal government cuts funding – in part so local officials don't get blamed.
The White House says it's more Trump Derangement Syndrome
NPR reached out to the White House for comment on the U.S. mayors joining the Pact of Free Cities. White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson responded with the following statement:
"If Democrat mayors spent half as much time prioritizing the safety and security of their own citizens instead of participating in TDS [Trump Derangement Syndrome] publicity stunts, their residents would be much better served."
Building ties with like-minded politicians in other countries isn't new. The Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC, has been cultivating relationships with right-wing populists in Europe for a decade.
CPAC Chairman Matt Schlapp said those relationships have been informative, and cites Nigel Farage, leader of Reform U.K., a right-wing party that beat the ruling Labor Party in local elections earlier this month.
Schlapp said Farage, who was a major force behind the 2016 Brexit vote, showed how to mainstream blunt talk about immigration that many on Britain's political left found offensive and xenophobic.
"In talking to Nigel, I realized that ... it was on a parallel path to the conversation of immigration in America, where the Democrats and the Republicans ... had made any scrutiny of immigration essentially [to] be racist," said Schlapp.
CPAC meetings in Budapest
CPAC also built ties with Orbán, holding five annual meetings in Budapest.
Regarding the Pact of Free Cities, Schlapp questioned whether European mayors would learn much from their American counterparts given some of the particular problems facing U.S. cities, including violent crime and extensive homelessness. But he added that if U.S. mayors can use lessons from Europe to develop grassroots support back here, that could prove useful.
"My private advice is they're probably doing the right thing to try to organize," Schlapp said.
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