Hungary cowering before George Soros? The US Ambassador outraged again

The US Ambassador in Hungary, David Pressman, slammed the Hungarian government on the opening ceremony of the Budapest Pride Community Festival on Margaret Island in Budapest. That was the first speech concerning the LGBTQ issue of the openly gay American first diplomat in Hungary. He attacked the Hungarian government’s hate campaigns, the anti-Brussels posters, the propaganda system of Orbán and the illiberalism he created in Hungary. He also shared his thoughts about George Soros’s activities and the “omnipotent conspiratorial powers.” It was an exciting speech, so we share that with you unchanged below:

Distinguished elected officials, members of the diplomatic corps, brave advocates, what an honor it is to stand before you today as the Ambassador of the United States – alongside my partner Daniel, having just celebrated our 22nd anniversary – to applaud your bravery, recognize your achievements, reflect on the challenges ahead, and reaffirm the United States’ support for your efforts to advance human dignity and the fundamental human rights of all Hungarians.  And, of course, to also wish you a very Happy Pride.   

Szabadság, szerelem. These are powerful Hungarian words.  Words whose meaning resonate far beyond any dictionary definition.  Words that express fundamental, universal values.  Freedom and love. Freedom and love.  Szabadság és szerelem. That little extra word is important.  Because no one should be forced to choose between the two.  We do not live in a binary world:  Freedom or love.  Love or freedom.  We deserve – we have the fundamental right – to both. I would like to speak this evening about freedom.  And I would like to speak tonight about love.  But I cannot speak about them without first speaking of hate. The sad and somber truth is that as we assemble here today LGBT people are under attack in countries around the world, including in Hungary.   

Perhaps this is driven by ignorance.  Or hate.  Or fear.  Or, perhaps its driven by cynicism and expediency. To believe that homophobic vitriol and policies may be born, not from conviction, but from opportunism does nothing to mitigate their harm.  But it does tell us something about intentions.  Preying on the vulnerable to stir up hatred, to rally supporters, to augment poll numbers is nothing new in this country – or in my own – but the consequences on the psyche and health of individuals, families, communities, and of nations, are real and devastating.   

Hungary is a beautifully diverse country filled with Hungarians who have always, and will always, define themselves in conversation with their history as well as their own hearts, their own souls, and their own god.  And that is precisely why this country is home to gay Hungarians, lesbian Hungarians, bisexual Hungarians, transgender Hungarians, and intersex Hungarians — as is true of every country around the world.   

This is neither the product of cultural imperialism nor the export of a decadent West.  It is simply a fact, here as everywhere.  It is a Hungarian reality.   

The truth is that there are Hungarian kids today struggling with who they are and who they love.  They yearn to be proud of themselves, proud of their country, and proud to build their future within it.  And it is also a truth that they are often told – through laws and statements of their political leaders and their media megaphones – that they have something to hide.   

That they should not be proud of themselves.  That their country is not proud of them.  And that they have no future in Hungary.   

That they are, somehow, not actually Hungarian; when they are. 

That they don’t exist; when they do.   

That they are invented; when they are made in God’s image.   

That their identity is the product of propaganda, when in fact it comes from their own beating Hungarian heart.   

Hungarians are fiercely independent, sophisticated, and intelligent people, and rightfully proud of their rich culture and history.  No matter how many government-produced posters of “Brussels” bombs may be emblazoned around town at any given moment, the reality is Hungary is not under “attack” by outside forces, or vulnerable to a “liberal virus” or “western decadence,” or cowering before George Soros, or at the mercy of omnipotent conspiratorial powers.  No, the reality is something far simpler. 

The story of Hungary, including its movement for equality, is one being written not by foreigners, but by Hungarians.   

Not by them, but by you.   

Not by people abroad, but by the people in this room.   

It is not fictional.  It is a true story that is rich, resonant, and real. 

And the United States supports you as you write that story, and in your effort to advance human dignity.   

While the news should report this truthful story factually.  I can already read the headlines Minister Rogán’s team is dictating for tomorrow’s papers.  No doubt I’ll be accused of staging provocations, of importing Western wokeness and foisting obscene values while meddling in Hungary’s domestic affairs.   

What won’t happen is any of the government’s captured and controlled media outlets printing this speech in full.  What they’ll cut out – what they always cut out – is the fact that it is Hungarians who believe in these universal human rights, and it is Hungarians leading the fight for them.   

What they’ll cut out is all of you.  

But they should print this speech, because tonight is different.  While the government-controlled media would have you believe these topics are all I talk about, in fact this is the first speech I have given here on LGBT rights.  As I approach my one-year anniversary here — having spent much of the year focusing on other issues of strategic importance to our two countries — they should print what I am actually saying about this topic rather than what they portray.  They should print it in full.  I dare them. 

But no matter what the government-controlled media will or will not print, no matter what it does or does not say, it cannot distract from one simple, undeniable fact:  Hungary made its choice.   

Hungary chose to be part of the West.   

It is Hungary and Hungarians who chose to join the OSCE, the Council of Europe, and the European Union and to uphold their bedrock principles.   

It is Hungary and Hungarians who chose – 25 years ago next year – to join NATO, and who pledged to uphold our shared security as part of a community of democratic values.   

It is Hungary and Hungarians who in 2003 — 20 years ago — passed the Act on Equal Treatment and the Promotion of Equal Opportunities, which forbids discrimination, including on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.    

In short, Hungary made a choice, and it is a choice Hungarians should be proud of – and most are – and a choice that should be honored.  A firm, unequivocal, and prideful declaration of Hungary’s identity and place – in Europe, in NATO, in the West.  A choice to move away from an era of oppression and repression – and towards an era of freedom and, dare I say, love.   

Szabadság és szerelem.

Hungarians chose freedom and love because they had lived the opposite.  I recently walked through Budapest’s House of Terror Museum.  Among its most haunting elements is the depiction of government efforts to turn Hungarians into informants against other Hungarians, neighbors against neighbors, brothers against brothers, and parents against their own children –-families against themselves — and all in service of oppression… and of empowering the few at the expense of the many.