A former adviser to Donald Trump on Wednesday endorsed racial profiling and warned that mainstream Muslim American organizations are waging a covert war of cultural subversion against the United States.
Sebastian Gorka teaches at Marine Corps University and advises law enforcement and national security officials on terrorism and irregular warfare. Last fall, he was paid $8,000 for policy consulting with the Trump campaign. On Wednesday, he spoke at the Family Research Council, a social conservative advocacy group, touting his new book, Defeating Jihad: A Winnable War.
Watch the video:
Gorka boasts that he regularly advises law enforcement on ISIS and terrorism. According to the website of his company, Threat Knowledge Group, he also advises the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, FBI, Army, and Defense Department Special Operations Command.
On Wednesday, he wrongfully claimed that 98 percent of terrorists are Muslims. Since 9/11, right-wing extremists have killed almost twice as many Americans as Muslim terrorists have.
The Intercept asked Gorka about advising Trump. He cautioned that Trump has a “steep learning curve” on national security but said Trump “is no fan of political correctness, he knows we are at war, and he wants to win. And my golly gosh isn’t that a refreshing attitude!”
The Family Research Council also played host to anti-Muslim speakers during the 2012 presidential election. But the 2016 race has elevated anti-Muslim conspiracy theorists to new platforms — from Gorka working as a policy consultant for the Trump campaign to a Senate hearing on Tuesday where Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, invited a witness who testified that Muslim advocacy organizations are front groups for Hamas, and that the FBI and Department of Homeland Security had been infiltrated by a “global jihadi movement.”
IT’S EVEN WORSE THAN WE THOUGHT.
What we’re seeing right now from Donald Trump is a full-on authoritarian takeover of the U.S. government.
This is not hyperbole.
Court orders are being ignored. MAGA loyalists have been put in charge of the military and federal law enforcement agencies. The Department of Government Efficiency has stripped Congress of its power of the purse. News outlets that challenge Trump have been banished or put under investigation.
Yet far too many are still covering Trump’s assault on democracy like politics as usual, with flattering headlines describing Trump as “unconventional,” “testing the boundaries,” and “aggressively flexing power.”
The Intercept has long covered authoritarian governments, billionaire oligarchs, and backsliding democracies around the world. We understand the challenge we face in Trump and the vital importance of press freedom in defending democracy.
We’re independent of corporate interests. Will you help us?
IT’S BEEN A DEVASTATING year for journalism — the worst in modern U.S. history.
We have a president with utter contempt for truth aggressively using the government’s full powers to dismantle the free press. Corporate news outlets have cowered, becoming accessories in Trump’s project to create a post-truth America. Right-wing billionaires have pounced, buying up media organizations and rebuilding the information environment to their liking.
In this most perilous moment for democracy, The Intercept is fighting back. But to do so effectively, we need to grow.
That’s where you come in. Will you help us expand our reporting capacity in time to hit the ground running in 2026?
We’re independent of corporate interests. Will you help us?
I’M BEN MUESSIG, The Intercept’s editor-in-chief. It’s been a devastating year for journalism — the worst in modern U.S. history.
We have a president with utter contempt for truth aggressively using the government’s full powers to dismantle the free press. Corporate news outlets have cowered, becoming accessories in Trump’s project to create a post-truth America. Right-wing billionaires have pounced, buying up media organizations and rebuilding the information environment to their liking.
In this most perilous moment for democracy, The Intercept is fighting back. But to do so effectively, we need to grow.
That’s where you come in. Will you help us expand our reporting capacity in time to hit the ground running in 2026?
We’re independent of corporate interests. Will you help us?
Contact the author:
Related
Latest Stories
License to Kill
Trump Has Already Spent at Least $4.7 Billion Attacking Latin America
It’s not cheap to attack Venezuela and capture its president or conduct dozens of strikes on civilian boats.
ChatGPT Confessed to a Crime It Couldn’t Possibly Have Committed
A renown criminologist’s experiment with ChatGPT demonstrates the destructive power of police to elicit false confessions.
Chilling Dissent
The Short and Ridiculous Trial of a Protester Arrested in an Inflatable Penis Costume
An Alabama cop who confronted the No Kings protester claimed she posed a risk to public safety. The judge was unconvinced.