Posted on 08/25/2017 5:22:00 PM PDT by gubamyster
Sebastian Gorka is resigning his post as Deputy Assistant to President Trump, multiple sources familiar with the situation have told The Federalist.
In a blunt resignation letter, the national security and counterterrorism expert expressed dissatisfaction with the current state of the Trump administration. “[G]iven recent events, it is clear to me that forces that do not support the MAGA promise are – for now – ascendant within the White House,” Gorka wrote. “As a result, the best and most effective way I can support you, Mr. President, is from outside the People’s House.”
Gorka’s letter expressed unhappiness with the direction the Trump administration’s foreign policy has taken, as signaled by the president’s recent speech on Afghanistan:
“Regrettably, outside of yourself, the individuals who most embodied and represented the policies that will ‘Make America Great Again,’ have been internally countered, systematically removed, or undermined in recent months. This was made patently obvious as I read the text of your speech on Afghanistan this week…
“The fact that those who drafted and approved the speech removed any mention of Radical Islam or radical Islamic terrorism proves that a crucial element of your presidential campaign has been lost…
“Just as worrying, when discussing our future actions in the region, the speech listed operational objectives without ever defining the strategic victory conditions we are fighting for. This omission should seriously disturb any national security professional, and any American who is unsatisfied with the last 16 years of disastrous policy decisions which have led to thousands of Americans killed and trillions of taxpayer dollars spent in ways that have not brought security or victory.”
During his time in the Trump administration, Gorka focused on issues such as countering the Muslim Brotherhood, the crisis in Qatar, drafting a new long-term national security strategy, and combatting China’s economic warfare. Before coming to the White House, Gorka was an editor for national security affairs for Breitbart News, where he worked with Steve Bannon, who also recently departed the administration.
Gorka’s tenure at the White House was marked by unusually vociferous attacks against him and his family by left-leaning media organizations and the Democratic Party. This includes personal attacks against his wife, mother, and son.
A source close to the White House said of his decision, “This was more or less going to be a done deal when Bannon submitted his resignation. Not because he didn’t have a protector, but because there is no point in having your life ruined every day if you’re not going to get much accomplished.” The same source said that what did change after Bannon left was that anti-Bannon factions began erecting bureaucratic road blocks to undermine Gorka internally.
The Forward has written dozens of attack pieces against Gorka, including several attempting to align him with Nazism. Most recently that publication retracted a story about his son’s schoolwork. Gorka strenuously objected to allegations he had ties to Nazi groups in his family’s home country of Hungary, where he had previously been involved in national politics. Even detractors eventually acknowledged the Nazi accusations were unfair smears.
In his letter, Gorka made clear that he believes in the promise of the Trump presidency despite being concerned about its present direction.
“Your presidency will prove to be one of the most significant events in modern American politics. November the 8th was the result of decades during which the political and media elites felt that they knew better than the people who elect them into office. They do not, and the MAGA platform allowed their voices to be heard,” he wrote, adding, “Millions of people believe in, and have chosen, you and your vision of Making America Great Again. They will help eventually rebalance this temporary reality.”
Mollie Ziegler Hemingway is a senior editor at The Federalist. Follow her on Twitter at @mzhemingway
Yep. All 3 should be out of there.
He wrote a great book too. I read it in two sittings which for me is nearly impossible unless it’s a football officials manual.
Sessions?
Thanks for the clarification, Larry.
How would you characterize/explain his ridding the NSC of Trump loyalists? Or, were they, indeed, loyalists?
It would pay better and he could do the same thing that he was doing at the White House. Gorka had a pay level but no actual position while he was there. He wasn’t on the NSC as some assume. He was defending the Trump admin on news shows. People need to be wary of chasing the cage of rabbits that Team Trump likes to unleash for the press to chase. Don’t get clowned by our own side.
Agreed
She’s a former Fox News Channel girl.
Leni
Defeating Jihad: The Winnable War.
I only know about one case where a guy went way outdid the chain of command with a memo. That will get you fired.
Gorka was just interviewed on Steve Maltzberg’s DC radio show. He said the President reached out to him in the last 24 hours to encourage him. He also said that he’s been talking to Bannon about the media expansion he’s working on. Gorka says what Bannon’s going to do is going to be HUGE.
Combative ex-Trump aide Sebastian Gorka in talks to rejoin Breitbart!
Gorka, who served as a deputy assistant at the White House, suggested he, too, plans to take a combative role at the outlet.
“Breaking the back of the fake conservatives and destroying the left-wing’s attempted monopoly of what it means to be America today – that’s what I’ll be working on with you, Matt, and with that great team at Breitbart,” he said.
+2
Yeah, I don’t trust JAVANKA.
Bannon and Gorka are making the same contention, which is that supporters of the economic nationalism agenda that Trump ran on are being marginalized, and the business-as-usual / Deep State / liberal contingent is ascendant, with J and I at the forefront of that contingent, and Kelly enforcing the will of that contingent.
At some point it will be time to fish or cut bait on this concept of draining the swamp. Swearing at alligators may make a person feel better, but it’s not draining the swamp.
However, Rome was not drained in a day.
yup. thank God for Jeff Sessions. one trustworthy man in the d.c. swamp.
Strictly speaking, at least in the case of Gorka, I think a big problem was that he seriously dissed Sec. Tillerson. Tillerson & Kelley have a lot of experience and are probably pretty intolerant of such behavior. Having been at the 2nd or 3rd level of management in companies having 4-5 such levels, I can see where they’d be coming from, even if staffers I otherwise like are the ones canned...
Although iffy, this could work out for the better. This country desperately needs a large, well organized alternative news network catering to Trump’s base. Of course, even if it’s an outgrowth of Breitbart, freedom lovers tend to be free thinkers: The organization may need some “hard-ass” like Kelley to manage it!
Roger that.
Are, in fact, Trump loyalists being fired FRom the NSC?
There’s also Kelly and Mad Dog, and I hope soon ICE chief Arpaio.
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