Tucker Carlson took the Biden administration's "dangerous and insane" State Department to task for its targeting of Hungary because "it's a Christian country."
"Let's take a pass on Hungary," Carlson told MCC Feszt in Budapest, Hungary, on Friday, suggesting a new foreign policy direction for the State Department. "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.
"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."
Carlson's comments came as the Biden administration appears to be at odds with Budapest on several issues.
The conservative Orban government has opposed open immigration policies and has pushed for EU neutrality over the war in Ukraine.
Earlier this month the State Department announced plans to limit visa waivers for Hungarians seeking to enter the U.S.
Citing security concerns regarding passports Hungary issued beginning in 2011 until 2020, the U.S. opted to drastically limit Hungary's participation in the Electronic System for Travel Authorization program.
Signing up for an ESTA allows citizens from 40 participating countries to travel to the U.S. for tourism or business for up to 90 days.
The Biden administration claims Hungary has easily granted passports to dual citizens, creating a security issue.
Budapest has responded that it does security checks on all passport holders and has had no problems with dual citizens. Other European countries also offer dual citizenship with passports and have not been targeted.
Carlson said Hungary's positioning as a Christian nation has made it a convenient target of Washington.
"It's not a particularly provocative Christian country," Carlson said. "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."