Donald Trump appoints Islamophobe as head of counterterrorism

Donald Trump has entrusted the leadership of the fight against terrorism to a controversial figure. Sebastian Gorka, former strategic advisor at the White House, has returned to a key position within the National Security Council, a position which does not require the approval of the American Senate.

This specialist of Anglo-Hungarian origin, close to Prime Minister Viktor Orban, became known for his radical positions on Islam. “We cannot wait until terrorists from these seven countries have killed hundreds of people to act,” he declared to justify the entry ban targeting several Muslim countries in 2017. He also theorized that the fight against terrorism was part of “a war for the heart of Islam”, while specifying that it was “not a war against Islam”. His positions on Palestine, the very existence of which he denies, have also left their mark.

The reactions are virulent. The Democratic National Committee calls him “a right-wing extremist who is as dangerous as he is incompetent.” More surprisingly, John Bolton, a Republican figure, describes him as “an impostor who shows no loyalty but simple servility to Trump”. This appointment comes as a report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies paradoxically highlights that the main terrorist threat in the United States is now of domestic origin.