Who is George Simion, a nationalist who topped polls in Romania’s presidential redo?

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — George Simion, a nationalist and vocal supporter of U.S. President Donald Trump, won Romania’s first-round presidential election redo by a landslide after capitalizing on widespread anti-establishment sentiment.

The 38-year-old leader of the hard-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians, or AUR, will face a pro-Western reformist in a May 18 runoff that could reshape the European Union and NATO member country’s geopolitical direction.

Romania’s political landscape was upended last year when a top court voided the previous election in which the far-right outsider Calin Georgescu topped first round. The decision followed allegations of electoral violations and Russian interference, which Moscow has denied.

“For 35 years, the Romanian people lived the lie that we are a democratic country,” Simion, who came fourth in last year’s race and later backed Georgescu, told The Associated Press last week. “And now the people are awakening.”

Born in 1986 in Romania's eastern city of Focsani, Simion took a bachelor’s degree in business and administration in Bucharest, and later a master’s degree at a university in the northeastern city of Iasi researching communist-era crimes. He also became involved in soccer ultra groups.

He took part in civic activism, including joining a protest movement against a controversial gold mining project by a Canadian company in a mountainous western region of Romania that contains some of Europe’s largest gold deposits. He also campaigned for reunification with neighboring Moldova.

In 2019, Simion founded the AUR party, which rose to prominence in a 2020 parliamentary election by proclaiming to stand for “family, nation, faith, and freedom,” and has since doubled its support to become Romania’s second largest party in the legislature. It opposes same-sex marriage and has close ties to the Romanian Orthodox Church.

Simion supports Trump and told AP last week that the AUR party is “perfectly aligned with the MAGA movement,” referring to the U.S. president's Make America Great Again movement.

Simion’s political platform has been built on a fiercely anti-establishment agenda and populist rhetoric. During the COVID-19 pandemic, his party staged multiple protests against vaccination and lockdowns, capitalizing on a widespread distrust of the authorities.

He labelled the canceled election last year a “coup d'etat,” and adopted stronger populist rhetoric and religious messaging to tap into Georgescu’s electorate. He has branded Romania’s current political system as a “hybrid regime” that failed to deliver democracy after the 1989 revolution toppled communism.

“They voted for the change, and they were not allowed to make this change,” he told the AP. “This is why I’m running again as a duty towards democracy, towards the constitutional order, to restore the rule of law, to restore the will of the Romanian people.”

A Simion presidency would pose unique foreign policy conundrums. His activities in Moldova led to an expulsion and multiple entry bans on allegations of trying to destabilize the country. He is also banned from entering neighboring Ukraine for “systemic anti-Ukrainian” activities. “It is in their interest to have good relations with us,” he said of the two countries.

In March, Simion sparked controversy after remarking during a protest that those responsible for barring Georgescu's second bid for presidency should be “skinned in a public square,” prompting prosecutors to launch a criminal probe for inciting violence. He denied the accusation saying it was a political metaphor.

Observers have long viewed him of being pro-Russian and warn that his presidency would undermine both Brussels and NATO as the war rages on in Ukraine. He refuted the accusations as a “smear campaign” by leftists and said Russia has been the “main threat” to Romania in the last 200 years and remains so today.

“This is why we need a strong NATO and we need troops on the ground in Romania, in Poland and in the Baltic states,” he said, although he was against sending further military aid to Ukraine.

“The danger is not who will be the next president of Romania but … those who want to create a distance and to form two different opposing geopolitical blocs" between the European Union and the U.S., he said.

On the EU, Simion said, “We want more power to the 27 states, not toward the European institutions,” and that he is “totally aligned” with the position of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who was the only EU head of government to attend Trump's inauguration in January.

Siegfried Muresan, a Romanian member of the European Parliament, said Monday that a Simion presidency would be “bad news” for Romania and Europe, and accused the AUR leader of having ”disdain for democratic processes.”

“George Simion is not a conservative politician. He is an anti-European extremist. His election would endanger Romania, threaten European stability, and serve as a strategic victory for Russia,” he said. “He offers no viable solutions to Romania’s challenges.”

For Claudiu Tufis, an associate professor of political science at the University of Bucharest, accusations that Simion is extremist or pro-Russian are overblown. He says a Simion presidency could look similar to Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who has long been a thorn in the side of Brussels.

“My main criticism has to do first with his values. He’s a strong opponent of any sort of what people are considering to be identity politics, so he’s going to push back very hard on LGBT issues and gender issues,” Tufis told AP.

He added that Simion lacks a strong team to deal with major crises. “When it comes to dealing with geopolitical crisis, they are completely and utterly unprepared,” he said.

Presidential candidate George Simion, left, holds a religious icon as he walks with Calin Georgescu, winner of the first round of last year's annulled election, after casting his vote in the first round of the presidential election redo in Mogosoaia, Romania, Sunday, May 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

A man wears a t-shirt showing Calin Georgescu, winner of the first round of last year's voided election outside the headquarters of presidential candidate George Simion, after polls closed during the first round of the country's presidential election redo in Bucharest, Romania, Sunday, May 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

Presidential candidate Nicusor Dan gestures as he addresses supporters after polls closed for the first round of the country's presidential election redo in Bucharest, Romania, Sunday, May 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Eduard Vinatoru)

Presidential candidate George Simion addresses supporters via video link after polls closed for the first round of the country's presidential election redo in Bucharest, Romania, Sunday, May 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

Presidential candidate Nicusor Dan speaks to media after polls closed in the first round of the country's presidential election redo in Bucharest, Romania, Sunday, May 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Eduard Vinatoru)

A woman holds up a mobile phone backdropped by depictions of Romanian historical figures outside the headquarters of the Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR) shortly before polls close in the first round of the country's presidential election redo in Bucharest, Romania, Sunday, May 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.

Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.

Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”

Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”

Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.

“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”

He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”

Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.

More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.

With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.

Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.

In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.

Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”

Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.

“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.

The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.

The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.

Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.

In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)