Donald Trump welcomed Orbán to his golf venue in Bedminster this week. "Great spending time with my friend," the former president said in a written statement. The Republican said the two "celebrated his great electoral victory in April," but made no reference to the Hungarian's overt racism.

And then, of course, there's the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) -- by most measures, the nation's largest conservative gathering -- which is kicking off today in Dallas, and which is welcoming Orbán as a speaker. NBC News reported:

The American Conservative Union, the organizers of CPAC, defended their invitation to Orbán, regardless of his comments. "CPAC is looking forward to hosting leaders from across the country and the world. We support the open exchange of ideas unlike so many American socialists. The press might despise Prime Minister Orbán, but he is a popular leader," spokesman Alex Pfeiffer told NBC News.

It was a curious defense. Pointing to Orbán's "popularity" has nothing to do with merit or propriety: After all, popular leaders can be monsters, regardless of their domestic support.

The question, rather, is about the American right's embrace of an authoritarian bigot. CPAC and Trump know what Orbán said. They know he's been the recipient of international condemnations. They know one of the prime minister's own aides recently compared him to a literal Nazi.

And they don't seem to care.