The World Awaits Trump — And So Do We

THE DARK SIDE OF THE EARTH – A change in the US President could bring significant shifts and relieve political pressure on Hungary.

US President-elect Donald Trump (Photo by Sarah Meyssonnier / POOL / AFP)

One key to restoring order is addressing the federal budget, an issue 80–90% of Americans view as urgent. The United States’ national debt is nearly equal to its annual GDP, exceeding $36 trillion. (Trump’s first administration bears some responsibility for this.) Every single day, America spends $1.8 billion on interest payments alone.

 Trump’s nominee for Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, is a well-known investor who adheres to the “three by three” principle. He aims to raise the US growth rate to 3%, reduce the budget deficit to 3% (from 6.28%), and increase daily oil production by 3 million barrels (from 13 million).

Mr. Bessent is poised to become the highest-ranking openly gay politician in US history. Not only did he once work for George Soros, but he was also Soros’s business partner in the hedge fund responsible for breaking the British pound in 1992. Before supporting Trump, he was a known donor to Hillary Clinton’s and Barack Obama’s campaigns.

The world is not black and white! But given Trump’s track record, one thing is certain: he wants to ensure that money is in reliable hands. This goal aligns with the streamlining of the government sector, currently bloated with bureaucrats and deep-state saboteurs. This reduction effort has already been outlined in the Project 2025 program document, prepared by right-wing backgorund insitutions and think tanks. The main figures responsible for this effort are Elon Musk, the world’s foremost entrepreneur, and Vivek Ramaswamy, a businessman and former Republican primary opponent of Trump. Notably, Hungarian government circles also have personal ties to both individuals. Meanwhile, the liberal New York Times expresses horror at reports that Trump’s team is subjecting candidates for key positions to "loyalty tests." This is ironic, considering that during Trump’s presidency from 2017 to 2021, the American mainstream often delighted in mocking how the bureaucracy sabotaged Trump's work, how his "colleagues" undermined him, and how they even swiped documents from his desk.

In 2025, the composition of Congress - with Republican leadership in both chambers - and the two-thirds conservative majority on the Supreme Court will create more favorable conditions for Donald Trump’s governance compared to the political landscape he faced upon first entering office, in 2017.

Of course, we Hungarians are primarily interested in how the change at the White House will affect Europe, including our country. In Washington, Hungary is primarily of interest as a NATO member, and next year the organization will hold a summit in The Hague. Ukraine is likely to be the main issue, but the new situation could significantly reduce the pressure on Hungary from the US with the Western European countries following suit. (Alex Hemingway, an American businessman well-known in Hungary, told Magyar Nemzet in an interview in November that no one around him in California understands why the United States has spent 180 billion dollars on Ukraine. Neither does Trump, probably.) Although Trump is unlikely to turn his back on NATO, he will certainly push for a further increase in European defense spending, beyond the much-mentioned two per cent of GDP. 

Hungarian government circles also expect a significant easing of political pressure in bilateral relations. This is based not only on the good personal relationship between Donald Trump and Viktor Orban, but also on the wide network of contacts that has been built between Budapest and the president's people in recent years. First of all, Budapest is expecting the US to do a volte-face in two issues, with which the Biden administration punished Hungary on political grounds, causing harm to Hungarian citizens.

One is the termination of the tax convention for the avoidance of double taxation with Hungary, the other is last years's reduction of the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) validity period (for spurious reasons), making travel for Hungarians more difficult. The new US intentions will also be reflected in the activities of the next ambassador to Budapest, whom Hungarian diplomatic circles expect to arrive in the fall. David Pressman's departure meets popular demand, but until his successor arrives, a charge d'affaires will lead the mission in Budapest's Liberty Square.