Far-right Romanian politician Călin Georgescu called US vice-president and now-ally JD Vance a “virus” in 2024

Pro-Russian candidate Călin Georgescu, who is now seeking the support of the Trump administration to run for president of Romania, said Donald Trump "is not what he used to be" and called vice-president JD Vance “a virus” in a podcast from July 2024, Digi24 reported.

Georgescu, who was virtually unknown at that time, was highly critical of the two top US officials, particularly in their positioning in favor of Israel in its conflict with Hamas.

"Trump's 2016 sovereignty discourse was one thing, and now it's another. I see only one thing: in his first term, indeed, there was peace on Earth. What I see now, especially with the appointment of vice president JD Vance, [...] Make America Great Again, MAGA, has turned into MIGA, meaning Make Israel Great Again. That's what I see from some of his statements," Georgescu said in a podcast published on Facebook on July 19, 2024.

He also spoke about the attempted assassination of Donald Trump in July 2024.

"This assassination is as real as artificial sweeteners are harmless, or that Princess Diana died in a car accident, or that the Twin Towers fell because of terrorists," Georgescu said, referring to conspiracy theories circulating on the internet, which he implied he believes.

Moreover, Calin Georgescu also called Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni and JD Vance "viruses" on the same podcst.

"Do you know what the real virus is? Not COVID, for sure. The only virus today is the Meloni virus - she went to Argentina, to Mexico, and she has also been placed in Romania. Some people proudly associate themselves with her, but she is a virus, just like JD Vance and others in America, who keep the spectacle going. We don't need a spectacle; we need real life," Georgescu said.

The pro-Russian politician’s stance changed after Vance launched attacks against Romania at the Munich Security Conference in February 2025 following the cancellation of the November 2024 elections. Georgescu now praises Trump and Vance personally, using their support as legitimation in Romania.

In turn, Calin Georgescu and the canceled Romanian vote were taken up by right-wing media personalities and politicians in the United States in recent months as a reason to criticize the European Union for allegedly stifling free speech and being undemocratic.