[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 140 (Thursday, August 5, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S5925]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                HUNGARY

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, on a related note, Alexander Lukashenko 
may be the last dictator in Europe. But Hungarian Prime Minister Victor 
Orban is working hard to become the next dictator in Europe.
  In his 15 years as Prime Minister, Orban has undermined Hungary's 
democratic institutions and the civil society groups that support them. 
He has dusted off the autocrat's handbook and used many of its familiar 
tricks, including using public funds to reward his cronies, spying on 
and jailing dissidents and independent journalists, and turning media 
organizations into his personal mouthpieces.
  He spews ultranationalist bigotry dressed up as traditional values 
and rails against what he calls an immigrant invasion. Critics on both 
sides of the Atlantic cite him as a cautionary example of how 
democracies can die. Some European leaders have called for Hungary's 
expulsion from the E.U. because of Hungary's growing hostility to the 
bedrock values of democracy under Orban.
  Despite this, every night this week, Tucker Carlson has broadcast his 
prime-time FOX show from Budapest, Hungary. He is not there to 
interview the brave supporters of Hungarian democracy who are trying to 
save their country from Orban and autocracy.
  No, Tucker Carlson is in Hungary to praise Orban and hold up his 
strongman stunts as an example for America to follow. It is reported 
that he will also address a conference linked to Mr. Orban's anti-
democratic nationalist movement.
  Tucker Carlson has gone from spouting his dangerous anti-vax quackery 
and spreading the Big Lie at home, to travelling abroad to fawn over an 
autocrat and herald him as a leader worth emulating in this country.
  Ronald Reagan would be horrified. We all should be.

                          ____________________