LEILA FADEL, HOST:
Right-wing populists in the U.S. have been building political ties in Europe for years, like President Trump's relationship with Hungary's recently defeated prime minister.
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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: I stick up for Viktor Orban. Not a lot of people do because they're - in many cases, they're jealous. They wish they did what he did.
FADEL: Now 10 U.S. mayors from liberal cities are taking a page from that right-wing playbook. NPR's Frank Langfitt reports.
FRANK LANGFITT, BYLINE: Mayors from cities including Boston, Chicago and San Antonio are teaming up with their counterparts in Europe. Last week, they joined a group called the Pact of Free Cities. Aftab Pureval is the mayor of Cincinnati.
AFTAB PUREVAL: I've joined the Pact of Free Cities because of the actions of the Trump administration that continues to not just have democratic institutions and democratic values backslide in our country, but also the destruction of long-standing relationships all over the world.
LANGFITT: The pact was created in 2019 to share strategies and fight authoritarianism. The group held its annual meeting last week in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. Matus Vallo, the mayor of Bratislava, welcomed the newcomers from America.
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MATUS VALLO: What unite us are the values of democracy, which are far stronger and more enduring than the populist step taken by our nation and government. Unlike some world leaders, we still believe in these values.
LANGFITT: Gergely Karacsony is the mayor of Budapest. He shared lessons from the recent defeat of Hungary's Orban. A turning point - Orban's attempt to ban last year's Pride parade in Budapest. It backfired.
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GERGELY KARACSONY: People did not withdraw. They showed up.
LANGFITT: The city took over the parade, which also became a demonstration of free speech.
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KARACSONY: The right of assembly is not an ideological privilege. It depends on whether citizens can peacefully say, we are here, we matter, and we are not afraid.
LANGFITT: Karacsony said the defiance exposed Orban's political weakness and contributed to his downfall. Lacey Beaty is the progressive mayor of Beaverton, Oregon. She flew across nine time zones for the meeting in Bratislava. Beaty said the trip was worth it.
LACEY BEATY: I telling my husband this morning it was unexpectedly collaborative and just really underlined that a lot of the issues we're facing here in the United States, other cities are facing, too.
LANGFITT: Like funding cuts by hostile federal governments. For instance, Beaty said the Trump administration tried to cut a chunk of funding to Beaverton because it wouldn't dump its DEI policy. Karacsony said Orban's government put similar pressure on Budapest to threaten city services, such as garbage pickup. The mayor responded by putting big signs on trash trucks that pointed the finger at Orban. Karacsony said they read like this.
KARACSONY: (Speaking Hungarian).
LANGFITT: "Who would not want this bin to be emptied tomorrow?" Beaty said this shows why mayors need to tell residents when the federal government cuts funding, in part so they don't get blamed. White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said this about the Bratislava meeting. Quote, "if Democrat mayors spent half as much time prioritizing the safety and security of their own citizens instead of participating in Trump derangement syndrome publicity stunts, their residents would be much better served."
MATT SCHLAPP: This is Matt Schlapp. I'm the chairman of CPAC.
LANGFITT: CPAC is the Conservative Political Action Conference. It's been building ties between conservatives in the U.S. and Europe for a decade. Schlapp disagrees with the U.S. mayors politically, but he adds this.
SCHLAPP: My private advice is they're probably doing the right thing to try to organize.
LANGFITT: Next year's Pact of Free Cities meeting is in Amsterdam. Mayor Beaty says she expects more American mayors to join.
Frank Langfitt, NPR News.
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