It is mysterious, strange, and unusual for a politician suspected of ties to Russian intelligence agents to travel to the US and present himself as a great supporter of Donald Trump and the Republican Party.
Vladimir Putin hates America and makes efforts to destroy it. He also detests liberal democracies and invests tens of billions of dollars to undermine their political systems.
George Simion, a member of the Romanian Parliament, leader of the AUR party, with an active ban on entering the territory of Moldova and Ukraine, considered a threat to the independence and security of these two countries, made a trip to the US at the end of January.
His purpose was to reach Donald Trump, possibly to have a photo session with the American leader, and if unsuccessful, at least to have official talks with members of the cabinet led by the US President.
During the Joe Biden administration, long before knowing whether Donald Trump would win a second presidential term, George Simion was a critic of American policy, publicly supporting Russia's position.
"...after touring the country countless times and speaking with tens of thousands of Romanians: no sane person wants us to get more involved than we already have in the war in Ukraine. We have already bankrupted our farmers and transporters, whom we brought to the brink of failure, we have already donated everything that could be donated in terms of military technology to our neighboring country. What else do they want, for us to send our children to the front so that the arms industry can be happy to the end?", stated the AUR leader in May 2024.
"Practically, President Biden demands that Romania remain without anti-aircraft defense, at a time when Russia is dangerously advancing on the Ukrainian front," George Simion added in his speech two years ago.
Obstacle
In reality, all of the AUR leader's political actions over time have neatly aligned with Russia's agenda.
Simion was anti-American during Biden's term because he supported Ukraine. Now, he is a big American patriot because Trump has a good relationship with Putin, whatever the nature of that relationship may be.
Simion's objective was to infiltrate pro-Russian circles in America, the only ones that accepted him during his last visit to the US, and actively support Kremlin's interests among American officials.
However, the chaos in the Donald Trump administration and his rapid loss of public support greatly hindered George Simion's mission.
An insurmountable obstacle was the special relationship between Trump and Netanyahu, as well as the high barrier raised by organizations representing Holocaust victims, who view AUR as an anti-Semitic party.
"During the Parliament session, AUR deputies tried to physically attack me, threatened me and my family severely, surrounded me in an intimidating manner, subjected me to harassment and verbal abuse...," wrote Deputy Silviu Vexler, the representative of the Jewish community in Romania, to Marco Rubio, the US Secretary of State, equivalent to our Foreign Minister.
"The language used was violent, explicitly anti-Semitic and dehumanizing - a language that horrifyingly recalls the darkest moments of European history. I was labeled a traitor to Romania just because I defended democratic values and historical truth. At one point, an AUR deputy played a neo-Nazi song in the plenary hall of Parliament," the deputy wrote in an official letter sent to Marco Rubio, a copy of which is in possession of Spotmedia.ro.
"I was subjected to what can be described as a despicable anti-Semitic lynching, orchestrated by AUR members of Parliament, with the support of other radical deputies, whose conduct exceeded all democratic limits," Silviu Vexler further announced in the message to the American official.
Simion, Broken Promises
Furthermore, the representative of the Jewish community in Romania sent an official letter to Mike Johnson, the Republican leader of the House of Representatives, describing the same situation and accusing AUR of anti-Semitism.
The messages had an impact, George Simion was not received by any American official. The AUR leader had no contacts at the level of the US Executive. He met with a number of congressmen, but only at informal events.
"Contrary to repeated promises made by Simion in discussions with the Israeli Embassy in Romania, that AUR strictly implemented President Donald Trump's policy to combat anti-Semitism, Sorin Lavric, one of the important AUR leaders, frequently made pro-Iron Guard and anti-Semitic statements in the Parliament sessions," as stated in another letter sent to Rubio, in the context of Simion's visit to America, by Colette Avital, a member of the board of the Organization of Holocaust Survivors in Israel, former ambassador, member of the diplomatic corps.
ACCUSATIONS. Fragment from the letter sent by Deputy Silviu Vexler to Marco Rubio, the US Secretary of State, describing the anti-Semitic actions of George Simion and AUR representatives in the Romanian Parliament
"Very recently, the same person gravely insulted the memory of Elie Wiesel, denying that he was a Holocaust survivor and stating in gross and vulgar terms that the US Nobel laureate was a failure and an impostor, without being censured or reprimanded by the AUR president," Colette Avital further wrote.
After a wave of messages sent by representatives of the Jewish community in Romania, as well as important members of organizations dedicated to the memory of Holocaust victims, it can be said that George Simion's visit to the US was a disaster both for him and for AUR.
AUR and Greater Romania, the Children of the Security
Associating the party with anti-Semitism represents a path of no return leading anywhere but to governing Romania.
The messages presented above also serve as a signal to other parties in Romania flirting with the idea of forming a new majority in the Romanian Parliament by allying with AUR.
In the 1990s, the Greater Romania Party, launched by a hardline wing of the Securitate and the nostalgics of the communist regime, had a similar trajectory to what AUR has today. The launch of the two formations was done through similar techniques, although in different eras.
Back then, the party led by Corneliu Vadim Tudor had reached a huge level of popularity. In the 2000 elections, it obtained 20% of the valid votes cast.
Nationalism, populism, and anti-Semitism were as widespread in Vadim's formation as they are now in Simion's. Back then, the PRM was labeled an extremist and fascist organization, being isolated internationally. Today, it is AUR's turn.
The three letters are just the tip of the iceberg. The messages about Simion's situation, suspected of ties to the Kremlin, as well as the association with Călin Georgescu, tried for fascist and anti-constitutional activities, have pushed the AUR leader into a politically untouchable zone.