“Foreign interference in Hungary constitutes an attack on sovereignty,” U.S. Vice President J. D. Vance stated on Wednesday at an event hosted by the Mathias Corvinus Collegium (MCC) in Budapest, criticizing the fact that some people do not view the financial pressure from the European Union and the pressure regarding energy supplies from Ukraine as foreign interference.
“When the European Union withholds billions from Hungary because they are defending their borders—that is supposedly not foreign interference. (…) When the Ukrainians cut off pipelines, thereby causing suffering to the Hungarian people in order to influence the election—that is supposedly not foreign interference,” he said. The U.S. Vice President made it clear: “This simply does not hold up to scrutiny; regardless of what one thinks of Viktor Orbán, this is essentially an attack on sovereignty.”
J. D. Vance. Photo: MTI/Hegedüs Róbert
J. D. Vance pointed out: the Ukrainian president had said, “If you do not vote this way, you will not get any more energy.” He explained that if a foreign head of state ties energy supplies to such conditions, this could be interpreted as exerting pressure to influence voters. The politician described it as unacceptable when other governments
literally tell Hungarian citizens that they must vote a certain way, or else they will face retaliatory measures.”
He emphasized that the Hungarian people must decide for themselves whom they choose as their leader. In this context, he noted: the United States does not exert such pressure on Hungary, as it respects the decisions of the Hungarian people and the country’s sovereignty.
Regarding the education system, J.D. Vance emphasized: universities must not stand above society and cannot expect to receive unlimited public funds while simultaneously promoting ideologies with which taxpayers disagree. “It is the taxpayers who decide what they are willing to fund,” and “no one is automatically entitled to public funds,” he clarified.
At the end of the conversation, the vice president also spoke about his own experiences at university and recalled that his time at Yale Law School had helped him understand how the elite’s social networks function. He explained: “These networks are closed and self-reinforcing, and
since political and economic leaders typically emerge from such institutions, many decision-makers are out of touch with the reality of ordinary people.”
“The education system must become more open, and greater emphasis must be placed on merit-based selection so that what matters is not who someone knows, but what they can do.” He emphasized: if this does not happen, “the system is fundamentally doomed to fail”; therefore, in his opinion, it is also the responsibility of young people to actively participate in public life and contribute to the creation of a more open, fairer system.
J. D. Vance and Balázs Orbán. Photo: MTI/Hegedüs Róbert
Balázs Orbán, the Prime Minister’s political director and chairman of the MCC Board of Trustees, recalled that three years ago, in the summer of 2023, they had begun discussing with then-Senator J.D. Vance how wonderful it would be to welcome him to Budapest, at the MCC. The plans included discussing his book Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis as well as the politician’s role in shaping modern conservative ideas in the United States. “A lot has changed since then. For one thing, his second book will be published in a few months; for another, J.D. Vance has become Vice President of the United States,” added Balázs Orbán. He spoke about how
universities in many parts of the Western world are increasingly shaped by a strong progressive ideology that restricts freedom of speech and open debate.
“Your support helps us defend our position credibly and with conviction. For us, this is more than just a gesture; it is a clear sign of the enduring strength of U.S.-Hungarian relations,” said Balázs Orbán.
Via MTI; Featured photo: MTI/Hegedüs Róbert
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