Orbán turned Central Europe’s onetime success story into its poorest state and the EU’s most corrupt—distracting from real economic woes with fake threats. He brands it “conservative,” but it’s just corruption. Ex-US Ambassador David Pressman breaks it down on CNN. David Pressman

.#SedonaForum 2025 Ishaan Tharoor David Pressman Daniel Twining Damon M. Wilson Governor Katie Hobbs Roya Mahboob

Daniel Twining See more here (free to read): wapo.st/4d5NRUz McCain Institute #SedonaForum

Remarkable to see career foreign service officers headlining CPAC. Looking forward to the same “seriousness of purpose” in enforcement of the Hatch Act. Or have we “turned the page” on that too?

Sending strength to the patriotic Hungarians marching tomorrow to advance human dignity and fundamental rights in a country they love. Szabadság és szerelem. My past remarks on Budapest Pride: youtube.com/watch?v=0zA8PG…

On the eve of Budapest Pride & Dublin LGBTQ+ Pride, proud to join many of my fellow Ambassadors here in Hungary in affirming our solidarity with this great nation’s LGBTQ community - and the right to free assembly here & elsewhere.

Remarkable leadership shown by the brave Mayor of Budapest Gergely Karacsony today. nytimes.com/2025/06/28/wor…

“…and it will not take place”

At the #SedonaForum 2025, International Republican Institute’s Daniel Twining, David Pressman, & NEDemocracy’s Damon M. Wilson sat down with the The Washington Post’s Ishaan Tharoor to discuss how funding pro-democracy work in the U.S. helps keep authoritarianism at bay globally. Watch: youtu.be/2LC_Z4JSfi4?si…

Insightful piece by former US Ambassador to Hungary David Pressman. It's not just what strongman does but how citizens react. nytimes.com/2025/07/23/opi…

Read David Pressman⁩ on neutrality illusion “They cling to the illusion that they can preserve their independence and integrity while making deals with a strongman, just as Hungary’s elite believed they, too, could emerge unscathed.” nytimes.com/2025/07/23/opi… via @NYTOpinion

"As the most recent ambassador to Hungary, I’m often asked if the Trump administration’s tactics feel familiar. The short answer is yes. But the more important—and unsettling—question is this: Does the way Americans are responding feel familiar, too?" nytimes.com/2025/07/23/opi…

"Believing you can outfox a fox is how you become its prey." — David Pressman with a stark warning about institutional acquiescence nytimes.com/2025/07/23/opi…

“To the stewards of our great cultural and commercial institutions: Don’t dupe yourselves. The illusion that you are smarter than the strongman, that you’ll outmaneuver him with silent cleverness, is an illusion. Now your principled leadership matters.” nytimes.com/2025/07/23/opi…

"After years watching Hungary suffocate under the weight of its democratic collapse, I came to understand that the real danger of a strongman isn’t his tactics; it’s how others, especially those with power, justify their acquiescence." nytimes.com/2025/07/23/opi… via @NYTOpinion

Democracies collapse not just through force, but through the naïve self-confidence of elites. What should alarm us isn’t that strongmen follow similar playbooks, but that our elites do too. nytimes.com/2025/07/23/opi…

"After years watching Hungary suffocate under the weight of its democratic collapse, I came to understand that the real danger of a strongman isn’t his tactics; it’s how others, especially those with power, justify their acquiescence."