Freedom fighters unite? Hungary celebrates deepening ties with Trump-era US

Addressing a festive event celebrating American Independence Day in Budapest on Wednesday, Péter Szijjártó, the foreign minister, said “a new golden era” of US-Hungary ties had emerged in the past few months. Ever since President Donald Trump took office, “friendship has replaced lecturing and accusations”, he added.

“Like the United States, Hungary also attaches exceptional importance to independence,” the minister said in his speech at the US ambassador’s residence. “We are proud to be among those countries that fought for their own freedom and sovereignty… We are proud to think of ourselves as a nation of freedom fighters.”

Szijjártó said ties and friendship were now on a stable footing, and he hailed the role of US ambassador to Budapest Robert Palladino in creating “a new golden era” of relations. He said “a revolution of common sense” was underway, thanks to President Trump. “We Hungarians are proud to be among the standard-bearers of this revolution.”

The world, he added, had become safer and new wars were shorter, while old wars “seem to be dying out”. Terms like “peace, peace negotiations and ceasefire” were again being used, even by those who had attacked Hungary, he said. Szijjártó said the US and Hungary had adopted similar approaches to border protection and the fight against illegal migration, adding, “We insist on our sovereign right to make sovereign decisions” about “whom we allow in and whom we live with.”