George Simion, a nationalist who appears well placed to win the presidential election in Romania on Sunday, has promised to “Make Romania Great Again” and described himself as a “candidate on the MAGA ticket” of President Trump.
After trouncing 10 other candidates to win the first round of the election, on May 4, Mr. Simion spoke on the “War Room” podcast hosted by Steve Bannon, Mr. Trump’s former adviser and champion of an international populist movement.
Romanian voters had “totally bashed the globalists,” Mr. Simion rejoiced, echoing the language of American supporters like Vice President JD Vance, who has rebuked Romania for canceling an earlier election that a far-right candidate looked set to win.
For all his efforts to position himself as part of a trans-Atlantic uprising against global elites, Mr. Simion, 38, has built his political career at home on an issue that is more inward-looking.
He spent years mobilizing support for the idea that Romania should be “united” with its largely Romanian-speaking neighbor, Moldova, and also with bits of Ukraine inhabited by ethnic Romanians.
That aim, which he has toned down on the campaign trail in recent weeks, has scant chance of being realized but is sure to further enrage his country’s neighbors. Romania’s presidency is largely ceremonial, but it does have a say in foreign affairs.
