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“It has been an honor and a privilege to serve the country that I love in a country that I have come to appreciate, but our bilateral relationship is more than one person,” Cornstein said. “Working with the entire team at the US Embassy in Budapest, both Americans and Hungarians, I am proud of how much we have accomplished together in strengthening the ties of our countries as allies.”
“Although I will miss Hungary and all the wonderful friends and memories that I have made here, my Embassy team, Hungary and the Hungarian people will always remain in my heart,” he said.
Cornstein’s statement did not provide a reason for his departure.
A former businessman with no diplomatic experience, Cornstein was chosen by Trump to the position and arrived in Budapest in June 2018.
During his tenure, he courted Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Hungary’s far-right strongman who has repressed civil society and implemented hard-line immigration policies despite the disapproval and concern of the rest of the European Union. Freedom House, a Washington DC-based think tank, said in a May report that the Orban government had “abandoned any pretense of respecting democratic institutions” and that the country could no longer be considered a democracy.
“It is a great honor to have the Prime Minister of Hungary with us here today. Viktor Orban has done a tremendous job in many different ways. Highly respected, respected throughout Europe. Probably, like me, a bit controversial, but that’s okay.” Trump said at the time.
The top American diplomat in Beijing will step down before the November election in part because Trump urged the former Iowa governor to return and help him campaign, multiple sources told CNN on Monday.
