Tucker Carlson told a crowd in Budapest that the current American leadership hates both Hungary and Russia because they are Christian countries, and is punishing them for it.

Speaking at MCC Feszt in Budapest, Hungary on Friday, Carlson said that the “people who run” the United States right now are “dangerous and insane,” and it can be seen in the way they treat Hungary even though it is “not exporting their views to anybody else.”

“This is a country concerned with its own safety and prosperity. That’s, in the words used to hear a lot in the United States, a country that is minding its own business,” he said.

He said that, because of that, if he were running the State Department, he’d say “let’s take a pass on Hungary. We’ve got bigger problems.”

“But they can’t,” he said of current American leadership. “They hate Hungary. And they hate it not because of what it’s done, but because of what it is. It’s a Christian country and they hate that. And that’s the truth. And nobody wants to say it, but it’s true.”

Tucker equated that rationale with American policy toward Russia, as well, saying that being a Christian country is what “incites” U.S policymakers against the nation that, under Vladimir Putin’s authoritarian rule, invaded Ukraine.

“That is exactly why they hate Russia,” he said.

He claimed that the reason some call Viktor Orbán a “Putin suck-up” is because “one thing that Russia and Hungary have in common is, a big part of the population identify as Christians.”

That Christian identity, he said, is “not fine with Washington at all.”

“It’s deeply offensive to see that alive in Europe,” he said. “And that is the core. It’s not rational. It’s, this is happening on a gut level, but it is expressed through policy.”

The overall sentiment drew many reactions on social media over the weekend, particularly Carlson roping in Russia as being the object of hostility for being a Christian nation. One notable example of that pushback was Jonah Goldberg of The Dispatch and formerly National Review.

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Here’s a partial transcript of Carlson’s remarks:

I love the United States. It’s my country. To restate, I was born there and I’m never leaving. And I love my country. But the people who run it right now are dangerous and insane. And you can see that in the way they’re treating your country.

Which, even if you don’t like the values of the majority of Hungarians, even if you reject the Hungarian Constitution, is Christo-centric and think that Viktor Orbán is a bad guy and you hate goulash. Even if everything about Hungary is repugnant to you, if you’re in the United States, you’re still not going to spend a lot of time hassling Hungary because Hungary isn’t hassling anybody else.

Hungarians have views, your government has views, and even if you disagree with them, you must acknowledge that Hungary is not exporting their views to anybody else. You’re not rolling across the border to reclaim territory you lost after the first World War. Though, that could happen. But it’s not happening now anyway. Transylvania is safe in Romanian hands at the moment.

But it’s true. This is not an expansionist power. This is not a power that’s crushing weaker nations with sanctions. This is not a power that’s exporting something ugly to the rest of the world. This is a country concerned with its own safety and prosperity. That’s, in the words used to hear a lot in the United States, a country that is minding its own business.

And so even if you disagree, which for the record, I do not, but even if I did and I ran the State Department, I would say, you know, let’s take a pass on Hungary. We’ve got bigger problems.

But they can’t. They hate Hungary. And they hate it not because of what it’s done, but because of what it is. It’s a Christian country and they hate that. And that’s the truth. And nobody wants to say it, but it’s true.

And it’s not a particularly provocative Christian country. I don’t think most Hungarians go to church. It’s not a theocracy. You’re not required to believe in the catechism to live here. It’s nothing like that. It’s a soft Christian country, the softest ever. 300 years ago, people would look at modern Hungary and say, that’s not a Christian country. But by modern standards, it’s one of the last countries that identifies as a nation built on Christian precepts.

Again, not imposing them on anyone else. But that is enough to incite our policymakers in the United States. And that is exactly why they hate Russia, by the way.

I’m not a fan of Russia, and if I was, I wouldn’t admit it to a Hungarian audience. When I hear Orbán described as a Putin suck-up, I think, really? That image of Orbán being pushed against a police car with a baton to his neck by Soviet-backed policemen comes to mind. Yeah, he’s probably not pro-Russian, just guessing.

But why did they make that charge? Because one thing that Russia and Hungary have in common is a big part of the population identify as Christians. Now, why would that be provocative? A huge part of Malaysians identify as Muslim. Fine with me. But it’s not fine with Washington at all. It’s deeply offensive to see that alive in Europe.

And that is the core. It’s not rational. This is happening on a gut level, but it is expressed through policy. Policies that I’m ashamed of that most Americans don’t even know exist.

Watch the clip above via Tucker Carlson on X.

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