“Prime Minister Orbán treated this election like a card game at a casino. And he placed a very big bet. Whether he believes that he won or lost this hand, he was gambling not with money but with the U.S.-Hungary relationship,” the ambassador said in his remarks on the election. 

“A relationship that has been altered by his gamesmanship. The damage caused runs deeper than a four-year term of a President.”

“Hungary’s government has a gambling problem.”

Orbán’s government, however, hopes that Trump’s victory will allow it to “restore” Hungarian-American friendship. 

Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó pointed out that during Trump’s first presidency, Hungarian-American political relations were “at their peak” because they shared “similar views on peace, illegal immigration and the protection of families.”

But Budapest found the Democratic administration in Washington problematic — and Pressman’s stance as well. 

The diplomat was willing to challenge Budapest on domestic and foreign policy issues, such as the administration’s anti-LGBTQ stance or Hungary’s closeness to Russia and China.

Now, that Pressman has shown his hand, politicians and influencers around the Hungarian government are eager to see him recalled.