White House deepens feud with Hungary by supporting Biden's claim Viktor Orban wants a 'dictatorship' after Budapest summoned the US ambassador in protest over president's 'lies'

The White House deepened the feud with Hungary Tuesday when National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan supported President Joe Biden's comments that Prime Minister Viktor Orbán 'wants a dictatorship.' 

Sullivan wouldn't go as far as to say the U.S. believes that Hungary is a dictatorship under Orbán's rule - telling Fox News' Jacqui Heinrich to talk to the Biden campaign. 

Biden ignited a firestorm with the NATO ally by criticizing Orbán at campaign rallies in Pennsylvania and Georgia on the heels of his rival, former President Donald Trump, hosting the Hungarian leader at Mar-a-Lago. 

Orbán's government reacted by summoning the U.S. ambassador to address Biden's comments, with Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó calling them 'lies.' 

'Of course the president stands by his statement. And I'm not walking back his statement,' Sullivan said Tuesday to The New York Times' Peter Baker. 

The White House deepened the feud with Hungary Tuesday when National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan supported President Joe Biden 's comments that Prime Minister Viktor Orbán 'wants a dictatorship'

At a campaign rally outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Friday, President Joe Biden (left) criticized former President Donald Trump for hosting Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orbán (right) at Mar-a-Lago 

It was Heinrich who first brought up the tiff, asking Sullivan if the position of the U.S. government was that Hungary is a dictatorship. 

'I know why you're asking the question. I'm not going to speak on behalf of the Biden campaign,' Sullivan answered from the White House podium. 'You should direct those questions to the campaign.'

'What I will say as the Biden administration is that we have made no bones about our deep concerns about Hungary's assault on democratic institutions including the judiciary, Hungary's corruption, and other erosion of democracy in Hungry from the leadership there,' he continued. 'That is something we have been deeply concerned about that we have directly engaged them on and that people at this podium and students spoken about and will continue to do so.'

The reporter was directed toward the Biden campaign because the president made his comments about Orbán in rally settings Friday and Saturday. 

On Friday in Delaware County, Pennsylvania Biden hammered Trump for having Orbán meet him at Mar-a-Lago. 

'You know who he's meeting with today down at Mar-a-Lago? Orbán of Hungary, who has stated that he doesn't think democracy works and is looking for dictatorship,' the president said. 

The next day, during a campaign stop in Atlanta, Biden reiterated the point. 

'Yesterday he was hosting at his club Victor Orbán. Who says he doesn't think democracy works. He called him a fantastic leader. Seriously,' the president complained about Trump. 

To Sullivan, Heinrich pointed out that 'typically a foreign policy statement of that magnitude would be made with, you know, some coordination.'

Sullivan, again, directed her to the Biden campaign.  

'Again, it seems like the question you're asking is really about the campaign. So I think you should direct it to the campaign,' he said. 

She then asked him to reiterate the U.S.'s position on whether Hungary was a dictatorship. 

'I literally just stated what our position is,' Sullivan said, to which Heinrich objected.

'As I said before, our position is that Hungary has engaged in an assault on democratic institutions, and that remains a source of great concern to us and I take it from your question that it may be of great concern to you as well.' 

Baker followed up asking if Sullivan's answer was a walk-back of Biden's statement, to which the top national security official said no.  

Sullivan argued that the White House's position 'is totally consistent with everything you just said and is documented and is the exact opposite of a lie.'