A sinister smear campaign is being waged against President Donald Trump’s choice for Ambassador to Hungary, Benjamin Landa. Landa is an avowed patriot with deep consequential ties to Hungary whose presence there is of the utmost importance as the nation undergoes its first political transition in 16 years.
Landa, the son of Holocaust survivors, was nominated by President Trump to serve as ambassador to Hungary. Landa’s father’s first wife and their three daughters were killed in Auschwitz and his mother’s family members were also slaughtered by the Nazis during the Holocaust.
“Hitler didn’t exterminate his family,” Landa’s attorney Howard Fensterman said. “Instead, he goes back representing the greatest country in the world, which has given his parents an opportunity and has given him an opportunity to live and prosper in this country. And now he goes back as the United States of America’s ambassador. So, Hitler lost.”
What should be a story of triumph and redemption has instead morphed into a story of political repression – the type that Landa’s family traveled to the land of the free to free themselves from. Landa has been forced to endure a campaign of political warfare due to his support of President Trump, and the attacks have only intensified as the establishment hopes to railroad Landa out of the position of U.S. Ambassador to Hungary.
The concerted defamation campaign started when a nursing home owned by Landa — Cold Spring Hills in Woodmere — was hit with lawfare from New York Attorney General Letitia James, who claimed resident neglect and fraud. Landa has not been found at fault, and both the White House and his attorney have dismissed the allegations.
“No one cares about phony probes by disgraced Attorney General Letitia James,” an unnamed White House official said in an article from NewsDay. “Benjamin Landa is a well-respected New York business leader, and he is highly qualified to serve as United States Ambassador to Hungary.”
Despite being a nothing burger, this has not prevented the fake news media from hammering the narrative in an attempt to derail Landa’s nomination. ProPublica released a biased expose last month claiming that a nursing home facility owned by Landa is suing the federal government. The only problem is that Landa is relinquishing his ownership stake in the nursing home facility and has nothing to do with the lawsuit.
Pinnacle Multicare Nursing and Rehabilitation Center filed suit on February 26 in federal district court in New York against the federal government, naming Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz, and other officials as defendants. The lawsuit pertains to a dispute in Medicare payments in the aftermath of a federal audit.
Pinnacle has claimed that federal auditors have “blatantly ignore[d]” emergency waivers put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic, when documentation requirements were relaxed to prioritize patient care. The facility claims its performance during the crisis—reporting just two COVID-related deaths despite operating in a heavily impacted area—demonstrates the quality of care provided under extraordinary conditions, and they should not be penalized.
Democrats and the fake news media have seized upon this dispute, which should be adjudicated in the courts free from any political implications, in an attempt to sabotage Landa’s chances of becoming U.S. Ambassador to Hungary. Senate Finance Committee ranking member Ron Wyden of Oregon said Landa represents “giant corporate health care interests that prey on the vulnerable,” and claims Landa has been “rewarded” by President Trump with “plum political appointments and ambassadorships in Europe.”
The facts of the case are being misrepresented as it is clear that Landa has nothing to do with the Pinnacle lawsuit. According to filings with the New York State Department of Health, Landa is in the process of transferring his roughly 50% stake in Pinnacle to co-owner Berish Rubenstein. The divestment effort is part of Landa’s ongoing efforts to separate his private business interests from public service responsibilities.
Landa has been systematically selling his ownership stakes in a large network of nursing homes across multiple states as he gets ready to serve in the Trump administration — as any above-board public official would be expected to do. In Sept. 2024, Landa sold Premier Nursing and Rehab Center for $47 million. A year later, he sold Meadow Park Rehabilitation and Health Care Center for $23 million. None of this was ever mentioned in the ProPublica hit piece written with the sole intent to sow seeds of discord.
However, the gambit seems to be working among craven Senate Republican leaders, who continue to kick the can down the road as they let the fake news media dictate who should and should not be appointed to key roles within the Trump administration. The Senate must find their cojones, ignore the faux-outrage and promptly approve the appointment of Benjamin Landa as U.S. Ambassador to Hungary so a solidly pro-MAGA figure can build a relationship with newly-elected Hungarian President Peter Magyar.
