Gorka, Sebastian

Sebastian Lukács Gorka (Hungarian: Gorka Sebestyén Lukács; born October 22, 1970) is a British-Hungarian-American media host and commentator, currently affiliated with Salem Radio Network and NewsMax TV, and a former United States government official. He served in the first Trump administration as a deputy assistant to the president for seven months, from January until August 2017. Gorka was born in the United Kingdom to Hungarian parents, lived in Hungary from 1992 to 2008, and in 2012 became a naturalized American citizen. Gorka has written several books and for a variety of publications, is politically conservative and has ties to the alt-right, though he rejects the term and has condemned the alt-right, calling it "bogus" and "a new label for nationalists or irredentist bigots". During his time in the first Trump administration, Gorka gave a series of combative interviews with the press in which he defended the administration's positions on national security and foreign policy. Various national security scholars in academic and policymaking circles have characterized Gorka as fringe. Some critics have challenged his academic credentials, his views on Islam and radicalization, and his motives for identifying with the Order of Vitéz and supporting Magyar Gárda, a paramilitary organization banned by the European Union. In November 2024, Gorka was named to become deputy assistant to the president and senior director for counterterrorism in the second Trump administration.