#2924: Sebastian Gorka

Sebastian Lukács Gorka is a British-Hungarian-American media host and commentator currently affiliated with Salem Radio Network and NewsMax TV, a self-declared alpha male, paranoid conspiracy theorist, and, at various points, a US government official: Gorka served as deputy assistant to the president for seven months in the first Trump administration, and is currently deputy assistant to the president and senior director for counterterrorism. And though Gorka might look, on paper, to be formally qualified for his current position, his actual qualifications have been … questioned, even by his own PhD advisor. For the Trump administration, however, what mattered and matters, more than his actual expertise, is Gorka’s commitment to MAGA in general and Trump in particular: after the 2016 election, Gorka claimed that Trump’s victory was proof that God exists, pointing out e.g. that whereas Obama was a great divider of the nation, Trump is a uniter. He is also affiliated with and a supporter of various Hungarian far-right and pro-fascist organizations (his career in Hungary is recounted here).

 

Beyond his anti-Islam views (just moderate enough for John Guandolo), and speculations whether Gorka was in fact a radical Islamist plant), Gorka is perhaps most noted for his vigorous propagation of Stop the Steal-related conspiracy theories and misinformation in the wake of (and prior to) the 2020 election, which also ultimately got him permanently banned from YouTube in 2021.And during the 2021 U.S. Capitol riot, Gorka used Twitter to cheer on the rioters in real time. His Twitter record would make it somewhat difficult to follow other rightwingers inpushing false-flag conspiracy theories about the insurrection attempt, for it isn’t like Gorka doesn’t have a history of trying to push false-flag conspiracy theories: He suggested, for instance, that the 2017 bombing of the Dar Al-Farooq Center in Bloomington, Minnesota, might “have been propagated by the left.” At least he has dismissed QAnon … despite having also promoted QAnon-produced conspiracy theories.

 

His views on how to deal with sexual harassment are worth noting for future reference.

 

Diagnosis: Far from the craziest loon to grace the various Trump administrations, which says very little about Gorka. Heartily deserving of an entry here.