Secretary Marco Rubio Joint Press Conference with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban

February 16, 2026 | Sundance |

Secretary Marco Rubio went out of his way in this joint presser to emphasize the personal relationship between Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and U.S. President Donald Trump. Orban is facing a serious election challenge this April and all of the EU/NATO systems are actively trying to create pressure points to remove him.

Secretary Marco Rubio is in Budapest today for meetings with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his government to include the signing of a civilian-nuclear cooperation agreement heralded by the Trump administration.

Hungary is one of the few voices within the European Union who is pushing back against Brussels efforts to go to war against Russia.

Prime Minister Orban has been very critical of Ukraine, openly stating his opposition to EU membership for the embattled country. In responsePresident Zelenskyy has weaponized Ukraine’s geographical stewardship of oil and gas pipelines to shut down Hungarian energy and drive-up prices. VIDEO:

https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2026/02/16/secretary-marco-rubio-joint-press-conference-with-hungarian-prime-minister-viktor-orban/

LIVE: Viktor Orbán and Marco Rubio deliver joint remarks in Budapest

https://www.youtu.be/rcigFh9lJRk

Steve Bannon and Jeffrey Epstein

February 16, 2026 | Sundance |

Through the yearsI didn’t really have much of an opinion of Steve Bannon, I approached any story of interest that surrounded him by simply looking at the factual details of the current event in question.

CTH well understood that Bannon, and subsequently his expressed opinion and objective, was simply an outcome of his position –downstream from the billionaire of the moment who paid him.

In essence,Steve Bannonalways seemed to be,much like Kellyanne Conway, an advocate for whoever was financing him. From Robert/Rebekah Mercer at Breitbart forward to any endeavor thereafter, it always just appeared the same.

That said, with the release of the Epstein files, the relationship between Steve Bannon and Jeffrey Epstein is something CTHdid not expect. {HERE}Bannon and Epstein were very close and talked to each other about seemingly everything.

I can never unsee what I have read.Nor will CTH ever entertainthe possibility thatBannon was ever a good element within the MAGA effort. There is asolid argumentto be made that the BannonWar Room was funded, ororganized in the funding mechanisms, by Jeffrey Epstein. {HERE}

The files of messages between them containsome shocking stuff happeningin the background while Steve Bannon was in very close proximity to candidate and President Trump.The level of disdain Bannon had for Donald Trump’s family and for Donald Trump himself is really somethingCTH did not expect to see. {examples: HERE and HERE}

I am left to wondernow how much of thevitriol against Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, ie. “Javanka hatred”, actuallyoriginated from the Braintrust behind Bannonand the assembly of people in his immediate orbit. {HERE}

Initially, Isaw some Twitter accounts attempt to defend Steve Bannonby saying Epstein did all the talking in their text exchanges and Bannon was less communicative.However, that only applied to the first batches of filesreviewed. As a few days went along and people started citing files, reading them gives a much more fulsome picture of the relationship.

SteveBannon may have been focused on the financial gains and perhaps networks of peoplein his association with Epstein; but he certainly got deep into itand expressed extreme praise for Epstein, even going so far as to call him a god. {LINK}These were two men in a very close friendship. There is no political or ideological distance between Bannon and Epstein.

Thelevel of expressed skullduggery that has been going on for yearsin the background is very unsettling to accept, and I say that as a person who doesn’t customarily get shocked by duplicity.

This is not about division;this is about something more akin to betrayal.

https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2026/02/16/steve-bannon-and-jeffrey-epstein/

>>24265291

2/2

While putting on a MAGA face for the War Room broadcasts, in the backgroundBannon was actually plotting and advising of ways to eliminate Donald Trump from republican politics. This is Brutus level disloyalty, even accepting the guy has no moral compass other than his bank account.I can never unsee what has been seen.

There’s also some weird stuff in the exchanges about contextual things from years past. As an example,in one set of text messages Bannon and Epstein were discussing Patrick Byrnewho is now part of the Emerald Robinson/Mike Flynn network.Bannon notes in 2018 that Byrne told him he was working for the CIA, and apparently Bannon did not believe him. {SOURCE}

This is the same November, 2018, message exchange where Epstein is advising Steve Bannon on how to set up a media network to maximize privacy, structure the financing and eliminate the problems with transparency. This is the origin of what would less than a year later become Bannon’s War Room on Real Voice America.

Did Jeffrey Epstein provide the seed capital to assist the start-up of Bannon’s War Room? That question isn’t clear,but sheesh, the creepy irony of the possibility is really over-the-top.

I guess in the big scheme of things, considering all of the potentialcreepy stuff that is far more consequential to the Epstein file release, the relationship with Steve Bannon is not at the topof the issues of concern. However,the realityof seeingthis relationship and reading how much they both hated MAGA is just so darn deflating.

Trust lost can never be reestablished.

Ugh. All of it. Just, ugh.

Now wereevaluate everyone who openly,frequently and willinglyassociatedthemselves with SteveBannon on that “War Room” platform. Including: Julie Kelly, Mike Davis, Jack Posobiec, Lara Logan, John Solomon, Laura Loomer, Harmeet Dhillon and so many more.Did they know about this Bannon-Epstein network?

https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2026/02/16/steve-bannon-and-jeffrey-epstein/

>>24265297

Comments:

I disagree with some of Sundance’s opinions on others that have been on Bannon’s war room. Steve has had 1,000s on since 2018.

I also disagree about some of the people Sundance names in the paragraph above, Kelly, Davis, Posobiec and Dhillon are NOT like Bannon.I agree Solomon and Loomer are implants, to create narratives. I also find it weird how Loomer is so attached to Trump in a way that sounds like a sickness.

Now I want to know exactly what happened when Bannon got kicked out of the WH. Interestingly,Steve Millernever went on warroom, probably never askedbecause he certainly knew why Bannon was sent packing.

Nor is it true that everyone that goes on Warroom are anything like Bannon and others, many if not all are Trump loving republicans; so not everyone that goes on should be judged that way. Plus Steve invited Scott Bessent on for numerous interviews to discuss his life, history, accomplishments in monetary orgs to get the attention of Trump. That exposure gave Scott an invite to Trump and many others to vie for the Treasury position.

Of course there might be a benefit to Bannon by helping others, but that doesn’t mean they are all evil

https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2026/02/16/steve-bannon-and-jeffrey-epstein/