Another thought. This will sound like some conspiracy theory, but actually this is how things work.
These democratic systems in the American client countries are controlled to some extent. They create fake issues to devide the citizens and a handful of patron approved participants are promoted to vote on. They aren't really opponents of each other, the politicians that is - you can bet your arse some of the voters could kill each other over these issues. The media has key role in manipulating voters, this was true in pre-social media times, but now that grows into a real tool of manipulation.
Almost everyone is monitored these days 24/7. Smart-electronics: phones, watches, tvs, and literally everything in the internet of things collects data about the people and pass it to the Big Five and from there to US govt. They create psychological analysis and profiles of the population. As individuals and as a group as well. And the marketing of consumer goods is literally the same as political parties'.
The US is continuously doing client maintenance, routinely, and from the information they gain by surveillance, they can figure out if they need to nudge an election into one direction or the other - as part of the maintenance. Orbán and Co. had the steering wheel for four times in a row since 2010. They also built up a narrative that they couldn't detach themselves anymore, can't do anything else even if such is expected from them. So maybe Magyar Péter and Co. seemed like a more flexible leadership. Or perhaps they just wanted to clear the air before bringing back the Fidesz, letting someone else to the helm for a bit (perhaps snap election later this year). In a democracy it is unhealthy to have one leadership for a long time.
I'm fairly sure Vance came to Budapest to tell Orbán he'll lose this time. Orbán lobbied for support in the US govt, but he can't get it what he wanted - on the other hand he had to give what the US wanted (they did sign some deals).