Tucker Carlson from Fox News was in Budapest and conducted an interview with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. I found part of their conversation intriguing. Here is the official transcript.
CARLSON: When the President of the United States describes you as a totalitarian thug, it’s a very serious thing to say about somebody, I would note. I mean, that suggests that, you know, why wouldn’t the Biden State Department work to prevent you from being re-elected?
ORBAN: I think sooner or later, the Americans will realize that issues in Hungary must be decided by the Hungarians, and it is better even for the leftist liberal government in the United States to have a good partner, which is a conservative Christian Democratic supported long term by the people, Hungarian people. It’s better to have that than a government, which is supported by America and take the position, but losing after several months and creating destabilization and uncertainty.
So, not loved, but stable partner is better than the uncertain new one. That I hope the Americans will understand it.
Orbán is in trouble. He is isolated internationally and there is a chance that he will lose next year’s election. When Carlson provocatively suggested that the US State Department would try “to prevent” his re-election, Orbán did not reject the ridiculous assumption. Instead, he threatened the “leftist liberal government in the United States” that he will destabilize his own country. Orbán declared that the US is better off with a not loved but stable dictator in Budapest than an uncertain new democratic government. Sounds like a desperate, thuggish blackmail.
Joe Biden is greeting Pope Francis in Washington DC. (Official White House photo)
Orbán, the one-time Communist youth leader is also playing the champion of “conservative Christian” values and will do anything to have a photo op with Pope Francis who will stop in Hungary for a couple of hours on September 12, 2021. The Vatican released the following travel schedule.
Sunday 12th. Pope Francis will depart from Rome’s Fiumicino International Airport arriving at Budapest International Airport at 7.45 am. Following an official welcome, the Pope will meet with the country’s bishops and meet with representatives of the Ecumenical Council of Churches and Jewish communities. In the afternoon the Pope will preside over Holy Mass for the closing of the 52nd International Eucharistic Congress before departing for Bratislava, Slovakia. (Read Vatican announcement here)
According to this no meeting with Orbán is planned. Hungarian newspapers reported a different schedule. According to that Francis will meet Hungarian President János Áder and Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in the morning of September 12 at the Museum of Fine Arts. (Click here for this version of the program) Others have speculated that the Pope will try to avoid Orbán. (Read here)
President Biden is a devout Catholic and maintains friendly relations with the Pope. Will Pope Francis reward Orbán, a “totalitarian thug” with a papal audience?
We’ll see it on September 12th. I’m curious.
György Lázár
Orban is perfectly right, protecting the Hungarian values and he had the votes to justify what he does. On the other hand, the americans are not what they used to be, and the withdrawal from Afghanistan is the proof that they are not a trusted ally, because confirmed the defeats in Vietnam, Siria (by proxy terrorists).
I can understand the globalists are angry, but that is the way things are.
Orban says he protects Hungarian values, but he seems to pick only the ones he likes. In any case, an elected politician shouldn’t pose as a moral crusader. He wasn’t elected to be the defender of all Christiandom but to manage the government of a small landlocked country. His stated enemies – George Soros and the LGBTQ community – are not the enemies of Hungary; therefore, he does a disservice to his office by picking unnecessary fights.
Mr. Lazar your comments on everything that relates to Hungary or Viktor Orban continues to follow the same formula, presenting a distorted and negative picture. Perhaps at the University of North Carolina you did not have the opportunity to attend the Political Science 101 class, which would have enabled you to differentiate between totalitarian, authoritarian and democratic governmental systems. Viktor Orban has won three successive free elections giving him a two-thirds majority in the Hungarian Parliament (2010,2014,2018) and most Hungarians hope that he will repeat that success in 2022 also. He is an excellent political leader, with vision (which his opponents lack) and has given the country the policies that have made Hungary into a model to follow regarding a defense of traditional families, a defense against illegal immigration, and success in strengthening the country’s economy. On your next trip to Hungary open your eyes and observe. Do not become the transmitter of the sour grapes of the defeated, fragmented and corrupt opposition.
It is interesting that Biden results to personal insults rather than a debate. Not a very impressive statement from the supposed leader of the world. Wonder what adjectives he would use for Chinese Government, Russian, Iranian government heads????
Dear Maria Von Theresa,
You ask the question… Since President Biden considers Viktor Orbán a “totalitarian thug” what adjectives would he use for the Chinese, Russian, Iranian government heads?
I don’t know. I do know that Orbán considers all those government heads as his close friends…