Former national security adviser H.R. McMaster responded negatively when asked if Sebastian Gorka, who President-elect Trump recently named as the deputy assistant to the president and senior director for counterterrorism in his upcoming administration, is “a good person to advise on national security.”
“Is he a good person to advise on national security?” CBS News’s Margaret Brennan asked McMaster on Sunday’s “Face the Nation.”
“No, no, he’s not, Margaret. But … you know, I think that … that the president, others who are working with him, will probably determine that pretty quickly, soon after he gets into that job,” McMaster said of Gorka.
In a Friday statement, Trump said that “Dr. Gorka has been a tireless advocate for the America First Agenda and the MAGA Movement, serving previously as Strategist to the President in the first Trump Administration” for nine years.
Past Trump administration roles Gorka has held include serving on a national security advisory board and advising Trump on counterterrorism matters.
Politico has reported that comments and views of Gorka on Islam have resulted in controversy, and that he also has had his academic credentials questioned.
In his “Face the Nation” interview, McMaster also said “there’s some people in the Republican Party these days [who just kinda] tend to parrot [Russian President] Vladimir Putin’s talking points.”
“I don’t know if it’s because they’re drawn to him and they see him as a kind of a defender of Western civilization, just the shirtless guy on horseback, but they’ve gotta disabuse themselves of this, you know, strange affection for Vladimir Putin,” he continued.
Former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (Hawaii), selected to be director of national intelligence by Trump in his next administration, has in the past shared content implying that the U.S. was involved in making biological weapons in Ukraine, perpetuating a Russian narrative.
The Hill has reached out to the Trump transition team and the Republican National Committee for comment.
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