Four US officials argue leader of Romanian far-right party should not benefit from US visa

17 August 2026 Four US officials, two of whom are former ambassadors to Romania, signed a Jerusalem Post article arguing that George Simion, the leader of the far-right party Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), should not have a visa to the United States. The signatories, former US ambassadors to Bucharest Adrian Zuckerman and Mark Gitenstein, former United States ambassador to Belgium Ronald Gidwitz, and former governor of the state of Virginia, James S. Gilmore III, said that Simion was not compatible with American values. They noted that he frequently repeated narratives favorable to Russia. “Simion has worked aggressively to portray himself as pro-American and aligned with the MAGA movement. Yet many of his positions suggest the opposite,” the four said in the article titled “Wh