World political events often impact Hungary, and the attempted assassination of former US President Donald Trump is no exception. As is typical in such instances—consider, for example, the attempted assassination of Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico in May—the internet and the comment sections of liberal media outlets are flooded with hatred. In some cases, these comments express a desire for the death of the politician who survived the assassination attempt; in others—perhaps more frequently—they wish for the death of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

No sooner had the news of the attempted assassination of Trump reached the Hungarian press than the aforementioned comments appeared. In one instance, they even created a poll to decide when to shoot ‘Csuti’—a disparaging nickname used on the left-liberal side for Viktor Orbán.

This vote was spotted by Máté Kocsis, the parliamentary group leader of Hungary’s governing party, Fidesz. In a Facebook post, he wrote:

‘We must immediately and by all means act against all forms of incitement to violence.’

Kocsis then blamed the liberal media for the hate speech, stating: ‘We are familiar with the cowardly and underhanded methods of the liberal media. Now they will inevitably claim that we are overreacting to a joke page, insisting that it is merely humour, just wit, and should not be taken seriously.’

However, according to Kocsis, those days are gone: the assassination attempts against Robert Fico and Donald Trump demonstrate that such posts should be taken seriously, as there is nothing humorous or witty about them. ‘This is cold-bloodedness from blind liberal haters who think it is enough to disguise their anger as a joke,’ he said.

Kocsis noted that Viktor Orbán is primarily a father of five and a grandfather of six, and only secondarily a politician. ‘I have had just about enough of the liberals’ incitement, their sneakiness, and their aggressive hatred,’ the Fidesz parliamentary group leader concluded.

Máté Kocsis shared a similar post in May, following the attempted assassination of Robert Fico, which also saw liberal media comment sections inundated with hateful remarks akin to the current ones. ‘In the coming period, the legislature should consider how to manage these inflammatory comment sections. It has escalated to the extent that it contributed to the events in Slovakia. In Hungary, we must curb this verbal violence, this virtual civil war,’ Kocsis stated in an interview with Inforádió, reviewed by Hungarian Conservative.

Kocsis further suggested that media outlets should also reflect on their role in permitting hate speech to proliferate on their platforms. He highlighted that newspapers have a responsibility, noting that much of this content goes unmoderated.

‘I also personally hold many left-wing media outlets in Hungary responsible, as they excel at inciting hatred, biased reporting, and stigmatizing others. This includes Telex, HVG, 444, among others. The list could go on.’

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