Congressman Cohen Calls Out Vance for Endorsing Pro-Russian Autocrat-Loser in Hungary

WASHINGTON - Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9), the top House Democrat on the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, took note of the spectacular defeat of Hungarian strongman Viktor Orban in Sunday's election, and condemned Vice President JD Vance's enthusiastic endorsement of the autocrat in the following statement:

"The pro-Putin, pro-Russian puppet autocrat who has made Hungary a corrupt pariah state over the past 16 years has been voted out of office. While I applaud the result and commend the courageous voters who tossed him out, I am aghast and offended that the Vice President of the United States endorsed him and campaigned with him last week even as his defeat seemed certain. Vance and Donald Trump suggest that the leader who banished a free press, hobbled world-renown universities, suggested non-Christians and foreigners had invaded and weakened his country, and enabled a whole class of corrupt cronies to remake historic cultural institutions and line their pockets was on 'our' side and aligned with 'our' values. Orban's defeat is a watershed moment and demonstrates that the peoples' democratic impulse and rejection of corruption are a winning combination. The writing is on the wall, and it says a multicultural, pluralistic, open-minded, informed and thoughtful people know how to choose good government and decent leaders."

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