Tucker Carlson Apologizes To Hungary and Orban
Carlson started by apologizing on behalf of the United States after US Ambassador David Pressman, a gay activist, lectured the Hungarian government over LGBTQ rights.
"The point of diplomacy is not to hector other nations for its own sake," said Carlson. "To show up in someone else's country and scream at them because they're different from you."
"I'm not in the habit of apologizing for the United States. In fact, I don't think I ever have, but the behavior of the American ambassador to Hungary makes me want to apologize," said Carlson. "It's disgusting and inexcusable. It's also so far from the norms of diplomacy in my country that it's hard for me to believe that David Pressman is actually doing what he's doing.
"And so for a creep like David Pressman, who is not a diplomat - who's a political activist and Biden donor - to show up in your country and lecture you about your culture, and threaten you because you do things differently from the way they do things where he lives... hurts the United States and is a grave embarrassment to me as an American, and an outrage to me as someone who pays his salary. It's disgusting."
Hungary under Orbán has been tightening laws targeting LGBT propaganda. Currently same-sex couples in Hungary aren't allowed to adopt children, and changing genders is also illegal. Pressman, meanwhile is a gay human rights lawyer and California-born former aide to former US Secretary of State Madeline Albright. Earlier this year, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto slammed Pressman, saying he was way out of line.
Carlson also criticized America's 'cultural imperialism,' insisting that larger countries have a responsibility not to force their ideologies or lifestyles onto smaller ones, and that this behavior undermines the notion of self-determination.
"That is not the basis of a successful Empire," he said.
"Everybody wants Freedom everyone understands the concept of self-determination," said Carlson, adding "Hungary isn't hassling anybody else; Hungarians have views, your government has views."
He then conveyed a message to the West...
"What Hungary is saying to the West is we want to be part of the West... maybe don't push your garbage on us so aggressively," he said - in essence, that Hungary doesn't want to be an island, it wants to participate in Western civilization but without the oppressive force of cultural changes that don't align with its values.
Carlson's speech echoes some of what he told a crowd in Esztergom, Hungary two years ago, when he told the crowd that the US media landscape lacks objectivity, and discussed the importance of respecting culture, history, and beauty in society. Carlson views these elements as essential for human happiness and effective governance, something he thinks Hungary has managed better than the U.S.
"If you disobey the political orders from the ruling party they'll shut you down," Carlson said (prior to being shut down).
Carlson was particularly struck by Hungary's stance on migration. "Hungary stood alone essentially in saying you know “no thanks,” and that struck me as a totally legitimate thing to do," he said, referring to the Orban's decision to block migrants from entering the country.