Trump appoints former PM Orbán advisor Gorka as his counter-terrorism chief but Orbán can’t be glad
Sebastian Gorka served in the previous Trump administration as a Deputy Assistant to the President for seven months. Born and educated in London, he spent more than a decade in Hungary working for the rightist government and background institutions. Allegedly, he was PM Orbán’s advisor in the 1990s. He failed a national security clearance in 2002, and his appointment caused outrage in the USA even now.
A committed supporter of Trump
Trump’s former national security advisor, John Bolton, said Gorka was the ‘worst cabinet appointment in recent American history’. Leftist Hungarian media refers to him as a “political adventurer”. Gorka is a big supporter of Trump and an influential defender of his policies and as an anchorman. Even though many question his expertise, he runs as a national security expert in the USA. Trump appointed him Deputy Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Counterterrorism.
He was born in London to a father who helped the British Secret Service in the second half of the 1940s when Hungary was part of the Soviet block. Paul Gorka was arrested but rescued by freedom fighters during the 1956 Hungarian revolution. He and his family left Hungary, Sebastian was born in London and was educated in the British capital. He obtained his MA and PhD at Budapest’s Corvinus University.
Gorka failed a national security clearance in Hungary
In 1992, he returned to Hungary and started working for the rightist Antall government in the Ministry of Defence. Later, he became a fellow associate of the background institution of the Zrínyi Miklós National Defence University. Before the 1998 general elections, he became a national security advisor of Orbán and Fidesz. Allegedly, he remained an advisor of the prime minister after Fidesz’s 1998 victory.
However, in 2002, he failed a national security clearance, so he could not participate in the committee monitoring PM Medgyessy’s state security past. Some say that his relationship with the British and Americans working for their countries’ intelligence services was too good.
In 2008, he suddenly moved to the USA with his American wife and became a naturalised American citizen in 2012.
Gorka slammed PM Orbán and his Fidesz for corruption
In an interview with Válasz Online, Gorka said President Putin was afraid of Trump, so he did not dare to launch wars against its neighbours during the Trump presidency. Consequently, when Trump enters office, the war will end because Putin is scared of Trump. He also expressed determined support towards helping Ukraine with intelligence, arms, ammunition, and money. However, he highlighted the importance of financial clearance because corruption in Ukraine is brutal.
In the interview, Gorka slammed Orbán and his methods to gain power. He said he worked for Fidesz in the 1990s because he hoped the “conservative” block would not become as corrupt as the Hungarian Socialist Workers’ Party. “I was wrong. It is enough to look at Lőrinc Mészáros” (Mr Mészáros is the wealthiest Hungarian who gained 99% of his wealth after PM Orbán came back into power in 2010 by winning countless public procurements).
He concluded the interview by saying that he would be happier if his American conservative friends were more aware of the true nature of Fidesz.
The interview was published last August, so he probably did not change his mind and may not advocate for a closer relationship between Trump and Orbán despite his Hungarian origins.
Read also:
- Will Marco Rubio clash with Hungary’s Orbán? Trump’s bold Secretary of State choice
- Orbán warns of risks during Trump transition, advocates for peace in Ukraine at Diaspora Council reception – read more HERE