Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban talks to reporters at The European House Ambrosetti economic forum in Como Lake, Italy, earlier this month. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

It came about two-thirds of the way through Tuesday’s presidential debate on ABC, immediately after Vice President Kamala Harris noted that Donald Trump had been “fired by 81 million people … and clearly, he is having a very difficult time processing that.” She chased this burn by saying that U.S. military leaders as well as foreign heads of state she had interacted with viewed her Republican opponent as, respectively, a disgrace and a laughing stock.

Moderator David Muir offered Trump a minute to respond.

“Let me just tell you about world leaders: Viktor Orban, one of the most respected men — they call him a strongman. He’s a tough person, smart. Prime minister of Hungary,” Trump said. “They said, 'Why is the whole world blowing up? Three years ago it wasn’t. Why is it blowing up?' He said, 'Because you need Trump back as president.'”

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There were 67 million Americans watching the debate live, and I would imagine that at least 50 million of them had no idea who Viktor Orban is, or why Trump had chosen to highlight this man’s endorsement over the plaudits of, well, anyone else.........

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