Bucharest, Romania
Moments before Romania’s exit poll was announced, George Simion, the nationalist firebrand and presidential hopeful, was tapping his feet to YMCA on the steps of parliament. The campy American anthem bounced off the marble facade of Nicolae Ceausescu’s vast neoclassical palace, an incongruous soundtrack for the night’s unfolding drama.
Behind him, a phalanx of aides, friendly broadcasters and visiting politicians, some in MAGA hats, swayed to the beat. Then came the news: Simion was on track to lose.
He didn’t miss a step. Taking the lectern, he thundered that he had, in fact, won by 400,000 votes. His supporters cheered. Cameras snapped. It wasn’t entirely clear whether he believed it himself.
Across town, his opponent, Nicusor Dan, looked no less assured.
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