Bryan Leib, who is in the running to become the next US Ambassador to Hungary, has called on his potential predecessor David Pressman to remove the speech he made right before the US election results came in, titled ‘Hungary’s gambling problem’; stating that ‘this type of political theater and activism is unacceptable.’

In a survey by Daily Mail and J.L. Partners, one of the most accurate predictors of the result of the 2024 US presidential election, incumbent President Joe Biden was ranked as the worst among nine recent Presidents by 1,006 registered voters. Biden’s term was plagued by low approval ratings, constant questioning of his mental acuity, and, not least, a historically controversial pardon for his son.

For the first time since Donald Trump’s great comeback victory in November, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán of Hungary and President-elect Donald Trump of the United States have met in person at the famous Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida. The Prime Minister has also held talks with the world’s richest man, Elon Musk at the event. This is the third time PM Orbán has visited President Trump’s famous estate this year.

The video report published on public media news website Hirado.hu takes viewers to Ungvár (Uzhhorod) and Szolyva (Svalyava) in Transcarpathia, a region in the Western part of Ukraine heavily populated by ethnic Hungarians, to showcase the everyday lives of locals living through the troubled, war-torn times in Ukraine.

The Hungarian Women’s National Handball Team secured their spot in the semi-final of the 2024 European Women’s Handball Championship by beating national rivals Romania 37–29 in Group I of the main round in Debrecen, Hungary. Hungary have won all six games in the tournament so far; and have made it to the semi-final for the first time in 12 years.

Budapest’s communal transportation company BKV, as per its tradition since 2015, will put in service a special festive fleet of vehicles for the holidays this year as well. Starting today, 6 December, running until 23 December, it will include Santa Clause-themed buses, trolleys, and trams. Passengers will have to pay no extra fee to board these special rides.

According to a compilation of polls by EuropeElects.eu, Hungarians would have backed Republican candidate Donald Trump in the 2024 US presidential election over Democrat Kamala Harris by a massive 24-point margin. Meanwhile, the new President-elect is the least popular in Denmark, where only 4 per cent of voters would have supported him.

After meeting Fidesz MEPs in Brussels, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán of Hungary uploaded a short video to his Facebook page, in which he explains that despite the ‘lie campaign’ by Brussels, the Migration Pact does mandate Hungary to take in illegal migrants, which is why he opposes it; and that Hungary deserves ‘accolades, not punishment’ from the EU concerning border protection.

Outgoing US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has stated in an interview with Reuters that Ukraine should lower its conscription age to 18 from the current 25. In previous remarks he also said President Biden is ‘committed that every dollar we have at our disposal will be pushed out the door [to Ukraine] between now and 20 January’.

Disney has released its official trailer for their Snow White film, starring Latina actress Rachel Zegler. Just weeks before, Zegler had a public meltdown over the US presidential election result, and wished that Trump supporters ‘may never know peace’. While she later apologized, the reactions to the trailer still have been overwhelmingly negative, foreshadowing yet another big flop for Disney.

Under the Hungarian government’s newly launched Sándor Demján Programme, local businesses can apply for grants from a fund of 100 billion HUF. This is part of the government’s grand economic plan aiming to double the size of Hungarian businesses; and further strengthen the small and medium enterprises in the country.

Viktor Orbán has met with His Holiness the Pope for the fourth time, once every year since their initial meeting in 2021. The Prime Minister stated that this meeting in Vatican City was part of his ‘peace mission,’ and news reports confirm that the Russo-Ukrainian war was the main topic of discussion between the two world leaders.

Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó of Hungary paid a visit to Moscow after the Biden administration put Russian Gazprombank on its sanctions list, hindering the energy-related transactions of many European countries. Minister Szijjártó assured all a solution will be found to the problem, and reiterated Hungary’s stance for a negotiated peace in the Russo-Ukrainian war.

History professor Allan Lichtman’s Keys to the White House model predicted Kamala Harris would win the 2024 election, which, evidently, was won by Donald Trump instead. Professor Lichtman can’t seem to accept that his model failed, so he argued that it missed because it relies on ‘a rational, pragmatic electorate’—is that really why ‘the great predictor’ missed?

European competitiveness was made the top priority of the Hungarian Presidency of the Council of the EU in 2024, thus the meetings of the EU Competitiveness Council have carried special, added significance to them. The last of these meetings took place last week under the Hungarian Presidency, where five conclusions were adopted by the Member States.

A recent AFP articles titled ‘Orban’s soft power shines as Hungary hosts Israeli match’ apparently praised the Hungarian leadership for welcoming many Israeli football teams in the midst of the ongoing Hamas–Israel war. However, as expected, the piece also insinuates that the Hungarian government at times ‘veers into’ antisemitism, citing as an example the anti-Soros billboard campaign of 2017.

Despite insisting for months that he would not, US President Joe Biden issued a pardon to his son Hunter Biden on Sunday, 1 December. Hunter Biden was convicted on three felony counts of making false statements on a federal firearm purchase form and three felony counts of tax evasion earlier this year. However, peculiarly, his pardon covers any other potential crimes he may have committed in the last decade as wel.

The new Budapest-based airline Hungary Airlines has acquired 100 aircraft from the American manufacturer Boeing and is reportedly planning to make its first cargo flight from Budapest, Hungary to Hong Kong, China this month. It is unclear for now whether or not the company will expand to passenger flights as well.

Rejecting Balázs Orbán’s PhD thesis based on his political affiliation is akin to barring a qualified athlete from competing in the Olympics solely because of their worldview.

President Donald Trump became the second President in US history to be elected to a second, non-consecutive term after Grover Cleveland. He defeated Vice President Kamala Harris from the Democratic Party with a projected 312 electoral votes. He is also on track to win the popular vote, the first Republican to do so in a presidential election since George W Bush in 2004.

Real estate developer and reality TV show star Donald Trump was given very little chance by mainstream journalists and pollsters in 2016. However, by focusing on illegal immigration and standing up against the new ‘woke’ PC activists at the time, he managed to pull off one of the greatest upset victories in a presidential election in American history.

The European Commission’s aviation safety agency EASA’s conference was hosted in Budapest, Hungary under the Hungarian Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The emphasis was placed on the essential impact of human factors in ensuring safe operations at the event; as well as the aviation industry’s long-term challenges, such as the use of artificial intelligence (AI).

Democrat Mayor Matt Tuerk of Allentown, Pennsylvania tried to remove road closures in the city on the morning of the Trump rally despite them being announced as approved by the city the day before. The video of a Trump campaign staffer berating the Mayor went viral on social media. Eventually, the local police sided with the Trump campaign, and the event went down swimmingly.

The city, county, and military leadership got together in Székesfehérvár, Hungary to pay their respects to the fallen men and women of the Hungarian Defence Forces on All Saints’ Day, 1 November. Multiple wreath-laying ceremonies took place in different locations across the city on this solemn day.

The atrium of the Justus Lipsius building in Brussels, Belgium, the old headquarters of the Council, is hosting an exhibition of great Hungarian inventions in honour of the Hungarian presidency. The items on display include Ányos Jedlik’s dynamo, Dávid Schwarz’s airship, and, of course, Ernő Rubik’s Rubik’s Cube.

Chief Operating Officer for the Hungarian oil company MOL György Bacsa recently spoke to the Financial Times about Western powers trying to pressure Hungary into giving up Russian oil imports, while they themselves continue to buy refined oil from Türkiye and India, countries that are still refining Russian crude oil, essentially ‘laundering’ the energy import.

MEPs of the newly founded right-wing populist Patriots for Europe political group in the European Parliament were invited to President Donald Trump’s highly anticipated rally at Madison Square Garden in new York City, New York. The Patriots in attendance shared a video on their X page, talking about their experience at the grandiose event.

While President George W Bush enjoyed a record-high 90 per cent approval rating in the wake of the tragic 9/11 attack in 2001, his support dropped to just 25 per cent by October 2008. This was due to the eventual unpopularity of the Iraq war, but mostly, due to the 2008 financial crisis. Illinois Senator Barack Obama narrowly defeated former First Lady Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primary, then handily won the 2008 election to become the first black President in US history.

For the first time since early August, President Donald Trump is leading the national polling aggregate by RealClearPolitics over Vice President Kamala Harris. His current lead is just 0.2 points. However, he was underestimated by pollsters in the popular vote in both cycles he ran, in 2016 and 2020 as well.

The Asia-Oceania Working Group (COASI) had an informal meeting in Budapest, Hungary earlier this month, hosted by the Hungarian EU Presidency. At the event, experts discussed such pressing issues as the current political and economic trade collaboration between the European Union and the countries in the Asia-Pacific area, the Indian general election in June of this year, and more.