Trump had a ‘friendly’ meeting with Hungarian Viktor Orbán at Mar-a-Lago and then took the autocrat to a concert.

(CNN) — Donald Trump and a small group of close advisers met with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán for about an hour Friday night at the former president’s Mar-a-Lago resort, sources familiar with the matter told CNN.

Trump then took the European autocrat to a tribute band concert that was part of a “members only” event at the club where it was being held.

One of the sources familiar with the matter described the meeting as a “social gathering” with no agenda, while another source said it was “friendly”. Orban, a fourth source told CNN, had sought a meeting with Trump and was planning to stay in the US separately.

Trump, according to a statement from his campaign, “met with Orbán to discuss a wide range of issues affecting Hungary and the United States, including the paramount importance of strong and secure borders to protect the sovereignty of each nation.”

A Biden administration official confirmed to CNN that the White House did not invite the authoritarian leader to meet with President Joe Biden, and he did not request a meeting at the White House during his US tour this week.

Biden suggested earlier in the day that a meeting between Hungarian Strong and Trump was related.

Asked if he was worried about the Mar-a-Lago talks, Biden replied: “If I’m not, you should be,” suggesting that it was natural for him to be nervous about a meeting between Orbán and Trump.

Orbán’s far-right populism, fierce anti-immigration rhetoric, Christian nationalism and hostility to LGBTQ rights have made him a popular ideological role model for Trump’s “Make America Great Again” supporters. He has spoken in the past at the Conservative Political Action Conference — an annual gathering of pro-Trump forces — and Hungary will host the second edition of the CPAC foreign conferences next month.

The Biden administration has declined to comment on Orbán’s meetings with Trump, but the president used the meeting to make remarks Friday night in Pennsylvania, a crucial 2024 battleground.

“Do you know who you’re meeting at Mar-a-Lago today? Hungarian Orbán, who has clearly said he doesn’t believe democracy works; he’s looking for a dictatorship,” Biden told the crowd at his first rally. . 2024 general election campaign.

“That’s who you’re dealing with,” Biden added. “I see a future where we defend democracy, not diminish it.”

CNN’s Kevin Liptek, Betsy Klein and Michael Williams contributed to this report.