Péter Szijjártó, Hungary’s minister of foreign affairs and trade, explained how the “America First” platform changed European political realities in an exclusive interview with Breitbart News Deputy Political Editor Amanda House.
“We respect the decision of the America people. We respect [President Donald Trump’s] endeavors towards putting America First,” Szijjártó told House, making it clear that, as foreigners, the Hungarian government had no wish to interfere in American domestic affairs.
Szijjártó is a leading official in Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz Party government that has caused such consternation among the globalist politicians in Europe. He went on to explain how Trump’s rise to the White House had changed the political situation in Europe. “Saying ‘America First’ was a huge deliberation for patriotic forces in Europe. Because before President Trump had been elected, saying … ‘Hungary First’ was immediately stigmatized as ‘nationalist,’ even ‘fascist.’ Now, those who put critiques on us because of that are a little bit more careful,” he told House.
“Saying ‘Hungary First’, your nation first, is such a refreshing feeling. So we like him saying ‘America First’,” Szijjártó said, addressing those in Europe who criticize Trump for his rhetoric. “Who should say ‘America First’ if not the American president? And what should the American president say? What first if not America? For us, it’s obvious.”
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In contrast to those foreign officials who attack Trump’s economic nationalist agenda on trade and migration, Szijjártó explained to House, “We definitely understand his patriotic economic policy, because we run a patriotic economic policy as well. … We like the change in approach, that he does not want to lecture all other countries in the world. … He understood the American methodology must not, by definition, work in countries with totally different history, different approaches, different understandings. And, of course, we understand very well his policy on migration.”
Szijjártó also made reference to the efforts of President Barack Obama’s State Department to influence the domestic politics of Central and Eastern European countries. He spoke approvingly of the reluctance of the Trump administration to do the same. “We are happy that those open attempts to interfere in our domestic issues, which happened during the Democrat administration, are not the case anymore,” he told House.