Fidesz strongman “sends home” US Ambassador Pressman “with his wife”, Pressman warns of PM Orbán’s “gambling problem”

Ambassador David Pressman arrived in Hungary in 2022, and clashes between him and the Orbán-led Hungarian government have become permanent. Following Trump’s victory, government-close influencers and strongmen wrote that he should go home. One even said he should take his influencers, Ursula von der Leyen and his unnamed “wife”, as well. Pressman held a reception on Wednesday at the US Embassy in Budapest to celebrate democracy, in his words. He also criticised the Orbán cabinet, saying they gambled the US-Hungary relationship during this election. And the consequences are severe.

Fidesz strongman says Pressman should take home his “cute little wife” with von der Leyen

Zsolt Bayer, the owner of party membership card No. 5 in PM Orbán’s Fidesz party, titled his article in government-close Magyar Nemzet, “Pressman, go home!” He wrote about the deep state, woke, cancel culture, and LGBTQ, claiming that the American deep state tried to interfere in Hungary’s domestic policies with the help of Pressman. Bayer called the ambassador a viceroy and said the USA would return to the path of normalcy following Trump’s victory.

Bayer also said Pressman should take his influencers, press, von der Leyen and his “cute little wife”. “It’s over!”, he concluded.

Ambassador Pressman (c). Photo: FB/Embassy of the USA

Hungary suffers from PM Orbán’s gambling problem

Yesterday evening, the American ambassador invited the Hungarian press to the Embassy of the United States “to celebrate democracy”. He said he does not do politics and will never comment on partisan politics.

He reminded the participants that they sat in a room where 35 years before President George H.W. Bush had met with young Viktor Orbán hoping for a partnership between the two countries. “It was the promise of democracy that brought our leaders together on that evening, and we gather again in this room tonight to celebrate democracy”.

Photo: DNH, Alpár Kató

Concerning the presidential election, he slammed PM Orbán for gambling “with the U.S.-Hungary relationship. A relationship that has been altered by his gamesmanship. The damage caused runs deeper than a four-year term of a President, because it is rooted in an impulse to transform something big and lasting, a relationship between Allies – between strong nations – into something smaller and fleeting.” Later, he added what Orbán did was “gambling with the alliance that secures your safety, like a stack of chips in a game of poker”. He highlighted that Hungary’s allies saw that gambling and added Hungary must swallow somehow the cost of that gambling. “Gambling with our alliance, in the long run, will always be a losing proposition”, he said.

Trump won – Orbán won. But will Hungary win? And what could have happened if Trump had lost? Source: Facebook / Orbán Viktor

U.S.-Hungary relationship will not be the same

Pressman underscored that no alliances can last for long because gambling will deteriorate trust between the nations, and that kills longstanding commitments.

He also said that the American elections will not change Hungary. “I know American elections matter beyond our borders, but they do not determine your destiny – you do”, he concluded.

Photo: DNH, Alpár Kató

The Hungarian government keeps repeating that the economic problems Hungary faces are caused by the ongoing war in Ukraine and the emerging blocks in world trade and politics. Since Trump promised solutions, they suggested that our problems could be solved if Trump won. For example, the Orbán cabinet always submitted and accepted the country’s next budget before June (the 2024 budget was accepted in May 2023). This year was the only exception when Orbán said they would only discuss the budget in November because they wanted to wait for the outcome of the American presidential elections.

Pressman giving an interview to Euronews and government-close Hír TV. He slammed the latter in his speech, too. Photo: FB/Embassy of the USA

Read also:

• What can PM Orbán and Hungary gain from Trump’s victory? – read more HERE
• Trump’s victory threatens forint with collapse, Orbán cabinet happy and congratulates – details in THIS article

Featured image: illustration