Bryan Leib, who is in the running to become the next US Ambassador to Hungary, has called on his potential predecessor David Pressman to remove the speech he made right before the US election results came in, titled ‘Hungary’s gambling problem’; stating that ‘this type of political theater and activism is unacceptable.’
In a survey by Daily Mail and J.L. Partners, one of the most accurate predictors of the result of the 2024 US presidential election, incumbent President Joe Biden was ranked as the worst among nine recent Presidents by 1,006 registered voters. Biden’s term was plagued by low approval ratings, constant questioning of his mental acuity, and, not least, a historically controversial pardon for his son.
The video report published on public media news website Hirado.hu takes viewers to Ungvár (Uzhhorod) and Szolyva (Svalyava) in Transcarpathia, a region in the Western part of Ukraine heavily populated by ethnic Hungarians, to showcase the everyday lives of locals living through the troubled, war-torn times in Ukraine.
Syrian insurgents led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) captured Damascus, ending Bashar al-Assad’s rule. As the Syrian president fled the country, Hungarian opposition media outlet Magyar Hang claimed his plane landed in Budapest. The outlandish allegation was swiftly denied by Budapest Airport and the government, with even the news website later admitting that the claim was baseless.
In his regular Friday morning radio interview, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán discussed Hungary’s foreign policy and economic priorities. Orbán underscored that without the involvement of the Biden administration, there would be no war in the EU’s neighborhood. He also praised the peace-promoting efforts of Pope Francis, whom he met this week during a visit to Vatican City.
Outgoing US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has stated in an interview with Reuters that Ukraine should lower its conscription age to 18 from the current 25. In previous remarks he also said President Biden is ‘committed that every dollar we have at our disposal will be pushed out the door [to Ukraine] between now and 20 January’.
Disney has released its official trailer for their Snow White film, starring Latina actress Rachel Zegler. Just weeks before, Zegler had a public meltdown over the US presidential election result, and wished that Trump supporters ‘may never know peace’. While she later apologized, the reactions to the trailer still have been overwhelmingly negative, foreshadowing yet another big flop for Disney.
Despite insisting for months that he would not, US President Joe Biden issued a pardon to his son Hunter Biden on Sunday, 1 December. Hunter Biden was convicted on three felony counts of making false statements on a federal firearm purchase form and three felony counts of tax evasion earlier this year. However, peculiarly, his pardon covers any other potential crimes he may have committed in the last decade as wel.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán addressed pressing issues in his latest radio interview, including the precarious state of the Russia–Ukraine war, the potential of a peace-focused budget, and the government’s unwavering commitment to wage increases and economic stability. He praised exiting National Bank Governor György Matolcsy, and announced that he is nominating Finance Minister Mihály Varga for the post.
‘I am proud to say that Bulgaria is a multicultural, multi-ethnic and extremely tolerant society. Being the oldest state in Europe and having the oldest inhabited city in Europe, Plovdiv, only shows for how long this society has been preserved. At the same time, we are extremely cautious and sensitive concerning the subjects of tradition, values, religion, family, and homeland. We have kept our borders safe, just like our friends in Hungary.’