Why is Sebastian Gorka still in the White House? Because Trump loves his TV performances.
Sebastian Gorka  a deputy assistant to  President Trump   left the administration on Aug. 25. (Sarah Parnass Amber Ferguson/The Washington Post)
Of all of  President Trumpâs  close advisers  there is one who perhaps best typifies the worst of  Trumpâs  combative  us-vs.-them  fact-free style: Sebastian Gorka  a deputy assistant to the president who shares his views that Muslims are the enemy  bellicosity is strength and the news media are out to get the president.
For months  Gorka received heavy scrutiny over his ties to far-right  anti-Semitic groups in Hungary  leading to widespread rumors last spring that he was going to be dismissed from the White House. But not only has his White House tenure endured  he has continued to be a ubiquitous  Trump  surrogate in the media.
Why is Gorka still there? The best explanation is that  Trump  loves Gorkaâs television performances  whether they are in the Trump-friendly confines of Fox News  or in the hostile territory of MSNBC or CNN  where Gorka plays the anti-âfake newsâ pit bull for his boss.
Gorka has been hitting the airwaves again this week  defending Trumpâs unscripted âfire and furyâ bellicosity against North Korea  undercutting Secretary of State Rex Tillersonâs effort to scale back the presidentâs rhetoric  and strongly hinting  Trump  is ready to go to war with Pyongyang.
In Gorkaâs world  only he truly understands not just what the president wants  but also that the president is right about everything. Gorka has been widely mocked by national security experts as a fringe player with scant credentials for his purported counterterrorism post. But he has a single piece of expertise that has turned him into a favorite  Trump  surrogate: a willingness to defend  Trump  against any perceived enemy  and to project Trumpâs us-vs.-them mentality to the world â regardless of what more senior administration officials or anyone with actual expertise thinks.
Gorkaâs willingness to prostrate himself for  Trump  appears to have no bounds  including suggesting that the president of the United States is willing to launch a nuclear war. When pressed today on the BBC about his suggestions that  Trump  would order a military strike  Gorka maintained  â Donald Trump  has been unequivocal â  he  will use any appropriate measures to protect the United States and  her  citizens.â  He  repeatedly refused to provide further details but did remind the audience â and perhaps that audience was merely  Trump himself  â that âthereâs only one person in this great country that controls our nuclear arsenal.â
Gorka sent chills down the spines of his British audience today â including among some British members of Parliament â as he seemed to be paying no mind to how Trumpâs Cabinet and advisers are scrambling to scale back his reckless war threats.
Gorka further defended  Trump  this week on MSNBC  when asked why  the president  has not yet condemned the bombing of a mosque in Minnesota. âWeâve had a series of crimes committed  alleged hate crimes by right-wing individuals in the last six months that actually turned out to be propagated by the left â Gorka said. When pressed on the fact that  Trump  has been quick to condemn attacks allegedly perpetrated by Muslims  Gorka retorted: âSometimes an attack is unequivocally clear for what it is.â But the mosque bombing in Minnesota  Gorka suggested  could have been committed by âpeople who fake hate crimes.â
Yet  it seems  one very powerful person does want Gorka to stay: the president. As Jonathan Swan has reported  although some West Wing aides consider Gorkaâs media appearances âan embarrassment â his No. 1 fan is none other than  Trump himself .  Trump âs admiration seems to stem largely from Gorkaâs eagerness to jettison any semblance of custom or charm when appearing on networks  Trump  considers hostile to  his  interests. âGorkaâs stock has soared as  President Trump  has watched  him  on various cable channels fighting with the hosts and accusing them of being part of the âfake news industrial complex â â Swan reported.
Indeed  Gorkaâs willingness to disparage any media that dare question  Trump  is what helped make  him  a regular presence on  Fox   where  he  is frequently called upon to do just that  including by  Trump  friend Sean Hannity. Not even the Soviet Unionâs media was that bad  Gorka once told  Hannity   speaking about CNN  which has become a regular target of  the president himself .
Since for  Trump  all that matters is defending  him   it seems that Gorka will remain in the White House as long as his aggressive defenses of  Trump  continue making him happy.
Sebastian Gorka  a deputy assistant to   [TGT] left the administration on Aug. 25. (Sarah Parnass Amber Ferguson/The Washington Post)
Of all of  President Trumpâs  close advisers  there is one who perhaps best typifies the worst of  Trumpâs  combative  us-vs.-them  fact-free style: Sebastian Gorka  a deputy assistant to the president who shares his views that Muslims are the enemy  bellicosity is strength and the news media are out to get  [TGT] .
For months  Gorka received heavy scrutiny over his ties to far-right  anti-Semitic groups in Hungary  leading to widespread rumors last spring that he was going to be dismissed from the White House. But not only has his White House tenure endured  he has continued to be a ubiquitous   [TGT]   surrogate in the media.
Why is Gorka still there? The best explanation is that   [TGT] loves Gorkaâs television performances  whether they are in the Trump-friendly confines of Fox News  or in the hostile territory of MSNBC or CNN  where Gorka plays the anti-âfake newsâ pit bull for his boss.
Gorka has been hitting the airwaves again this week  defending Trumpâs unscripted âfire and furyâ bellicosity against North Korea  undercutting Secretary of State Rex Tillersonâs effort to scale back the presidentâs rhetoric  and strongly hinting   [TGT] is ready to go to war with Pyongyang.
In Gorkaâs world  only he truly understands not just what the president wants  but also that the president is right about everything. Gorka has been widely mocked by national security experts as a fringe player with scant credentials for his purported counterterrorism post. But he has a single piece of expertise that has turned him into a favorite   [TGT] surrogate: a willingness to defend   [TGT] against any perceived enemy  and to project Trumpâs us-vs.-them mentality to the world â regardless of what more senior administration officials or anyone with actual expertise thinks.
Gorkaâs willingness to prostrate himself for   [TGT] appears to have no bounds  including suggesting that the president of the United States is willing to launch a nuclear war. When pressed today on the BBC about his suggestions that   [TGT] would order a military strike  Gorka maintained   [TGT] has been unequivocal â   [TGT]   will use any appropriate measures to protect the United States and   [TGT]   citizens.â   [TGT]   repeatedly refused to provide further details but did remind the audience â and perhaps that audience was merely  Trump himself  â that âthereâs only one person in this great country that controls our nuclear arsenal.â
Gorka sent chills down the spines of his British audience today â including among some British members of Parliament â as he seemed to be paying no mind to how Trumpâs Cabinet and advisers are scrambling to scale back his reckless war threats.
Gorka further defended   [TGT] this week on MSNBC  when asked why  the president  has not yet condemned the bombing of a mosque in Minnesota. âWeâve had a series of crimes committed  alleged hate crimes by right-wing individuals in the last six months that actually turned out to be propagated by the left â Gorka said. When pressed on the fact that   [TGT] has been quick to condemn attacks allegedly perpetrated by Muslims  Gorka retorted: âSometimes an attack is unequivocally clear for what it is.â But the mosque bombing in Minnesota  Gorka suggested  could have been committed by âpeople who fake hate crimes.â
Yet  it seems  one very powerful person does want Gorka to stay: the president. As Jonathan Swan has reported  although some West Wing aides consider Gorkaâs media appearances âan embarrassment â his No. 1 fan is none other than  [TGT]  .  Trump âs admiration seems to stem largely from Gorkaâs eagerness to jettison any semblance of custom or charm when appearing on networks   [TGT]   considers hostile to   [TGT]   interests. âGorkaâs stock has soared as   [TGT] has watched   [TGT]   on various cable channels fighting with the hosts and accusing them of being part of the âfake news industrial complex â â Swan reported.
Indeed  Gorkaâs willingness to disparage any media that dare question   [TGT] is what helped make   [TGT]   a regular presence on  Fox   where   [TGT]   is frequently called upon to do just that  including by   [TGT] friend Sean Hannity. Not even the Soviet Unionâs media was that bad  Gorka once told  Hannity   speaking about CNN  which has become a regular target of  the president himself .
Since for  Trump  all that matters is defending  him   it seems that Gorka will remain in the White House as long as his aggressive defenses of  [TGT] continue making him happy.