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It was a surprise to the Hungarian public that still before the US presidential election in November lHe said. Because you did?
It wasn’t that surprising to me and my family. When I got here, our idea was to stay until the end of the presidential term. The presidential election really had nothing to do with this decision. We now begin to be home for Thanksgiving and Christmas. That is why the decision was made on November 1. I like being an ambassador, but my rank of grandfather is even more to my liking.
How old is your grandson?
He had just turned fifteen. And I gave up his life for two and a half years, so I didn’t see him on the soccer team and much more. Our family is very small and we are very close.
He arrived in Hungary in 2018 as an ambassador for Donald Trump. What was your goal and were you satisfied with the result?
I come from the business world, and there is a rule: you can never be satisfied, there is always room for improvement. But if I look back at the last two and a half years, I can say that when I came here, the relationship between our countries could not have been worse. And when I get on the plane next Friday, I can say that our relationships couldn’t be better. We have achieved a lot, which has only benefited the United States and Hungary.
The culmination of the political relations was likely when President Trump received Prime Minister Viktor Orbán at the White House last year. Yet many in Hungary think that you have not done enough to protect American interests, including the tug of war around the CEU. What is your response to these criticisms?
Today, I think, a more important question is what is happening with the coronavirus epidemic or how the economy has developed. As for my criticisms of the Hungarian government policy, I would like to recall a flight, probably the longest in history, that I did with Henry Kissinger from Singapore to New York when we wanted to achieve, without success, anyway, that New York could host the summer of 2012. Olympics. Kissinger told me that private diplomacy is much more important than public diplomacy. I followed this in my work here. Nor would I have rushed to the Index to complain to the Orbán government. If I thought they could handle something differently, I expressed it personally. He was aware that the solution would be good for both Hungary and the United States. I fell in love with Hungary, but it is not a perfect country, nor is its government perfect. Neither does the United States. It is in our constitution that we strive for a perfect union. I am sure that the Hungarian government thinks the same. Believe me, I heard my voice, but I did it discreetly. The Hungarian President and Prime Minister have an excellent relationship. I recently spoke with Trump for an hour in the Oval Office when I also submitted my resignation letter. He once said: Let’s call Victor! It turned out that the prime minister was in the kitchen when it was announced – the president was calling. He asked: however, why the president? To the United States, ”was the reply. You can build on such relationships.
It was not always clear which direction his embassy would take. Recently, the Index reported support for his Facebook campaign on the western track, which is critical of the Hungarian government, blaming Viktor Orbán for the close Russian relationship. How do these two lines fit together?
On my visit to the White House, which I mentioned earlier, I also visited the first lady; I have known the presidential party for at least fifteen years. Melania Trump I ask our photo shared on Instagram, where it was seen by millions and 800,000 people liked it. So don’t think I’m unaware of the importance of social media. Facebook is very important. But freedom of the press is also very important to us. I saw the post in question for the first time when you did. We are pleased to show you everything that will help to further improve relations between our countries. And we can reach a lot of people on Facebook.
Are you saying that your embassy has no say in what its supporters post?
I don’t think I should participate in every one of the lines they post. The aim is not to support or attack the Hungarian government. But to help build relationships.
He mentioned the coronavirus. 2020 is another difficult year in the United States in other respects: George Floyd’s death in May sparked a wave of protests and riots. Do you think your president will be re-elected? Are you voting for Donald Trump?
We are bound by many rules, diplomats (laughs). I do not want to evade your question, but I cannot comment on the elections. But if you start with who nominated me for the position, chances are good that you can bet on a bookmaker that I can vote for. A lot of bad things are really coming together in America this year. The epidemic, in addition to losing their livelihood with a crowd of people, or virtual funerals were held in which not even family members could be present. It is heartbreaking all over. But one day it will end. We will draw lessons and become stronger, wiser, and better prepared. George Floyd’s death was, in my opinion, murder. As a result, police reform is needed. But the violence it gave birth to is unacceptable. Since then, I have walked down Madison Avenue in Manhattan and down Fifth Avenue, where stores were bricked up by their owners for fear of looting. It is not violence that is in the answer.
At the moment, not Trump, but the statue of another Republican president, George Bush Sr., will be inaugurated in Budapest these days near the US embassy. How do you see the historical significance of this?
There are many people living in Hungary who, I am sure, do not have to explain the importance of 1989, the end of the communist era. Thank goodness I didn’t have to live in such a system, but I heard a lot about it. Bush was in Hungary at the time, he was the first sitting American president to visit here. Here, in the reception room of the ambassador’s residence, he encountered the Hungarian opposition at the time, including Viktor Orbán. Let’s face it, Viktor looks younger in the photo here (sample) than he does today, and it’s also true that we both weighed a few pounds less back then. I consider the inauguration of the Bush statue very significant.
He also encountered the spirit of communism when he learned that Cardinal Mindszenty’s former suite had been converted into the ambassador’s study. If you could leave just one sentence for an ambassador’s successor on the desk, what would that sentence be?
Please try to maintain and build on the good relationships we have built over the past two and a half years.
He will be returning home to New York now. What is the most important memory you travel with? from Hungaria, and what will you remember for years to come?
Look, there are many cities with beautiful views, good hotels and restaurants, good wines to drink. But a city, a country, is made great by the people. I also consider people more in my hometown, and also in Hungary. I keep more of my memories of the great people here.
(Cover Image: Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and David Cornstein, US Ambassador to Budapest, had an informal meeting with their wives on March 6, 2020. The Ambassador and his wife Sheila Cornstein welcomed Viktor Orbán and his wife Anikó Lévai at his residence Image published by the Prime Minister’s Press Office.
MTI / Prime Minister’s Press Office / Benko Vivien Cher)
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