Sebastian Gorka, a former deputy national security adviser to former President Donald Trump, told Breitbart editor Alex Marlow that he does not consider Tucker Carlson or Nick Fuentes to be conservatives. In the interview Gorka suggested that, because neither figure “lauds Sharia law” or praises Muslim states over the United States, they fall outside the conservative movement and could be viewed as left‑wing extremists by the current administration.
The comments come weeks after the White House released its new National Strategy for Counterterrorism, which lists “violent left‑wing extremists, including anarchists and anti‑fascists,” alongside narcoterrorists, transnational gangs and legacy Islamist terrorists as the most serious terror threats to the United States. The strategy makes no explicit reference to right‑wing terrorism.
Gorka’s remarks imply that the Trump administration may treat former allies who have fallen out of favor as security threats. Tucker Carlson, the former Fox News host, has been a vocal critic of the United States’ recent military actions in the Middle East. He publicly opposed a planned strike on Iran in 2025 and condemned the war in Gaza, describing the escalation as “disgusting and evil.” President Trump responded by branding Carlson an “enemy of the MAGA movement” and calling him a “flailing fool.”
Nick Fuentes, a hard‑line nationalist who was banned from major social‑media platforms in 2020 for hate‑filled remarks, has since been reinstated on X. His livestreams continue to draw large audiences, and he remains a controversial figure on the far right.
Trump’s growing rift with these and other right‑wing commentators—such as Megyn Kelly, Candace Owens and Alex Jones—has been evident since the United States began striking Iranian targets in early 2025. In a recent post, the former president dismissed the dissenting voices as “nut jobs” who allegedly sympathise with Iran.
Gorka’s interview is not the first indication that the Trump administration may weaponise counter‑terrorism tools against former supporters. Former head of the US National Counterterrorism Center, Joe Kent, is under FBI investigation for alleged leaks of classified material after resigning in March.
The emergence of left‑wing extremist language in a strategy that omits any mention of right‑wing threats, combined with Gorka’s statements, raises questions about how the current administration will define and prioritize domestic security risks. Observers will be watching for any policy moves or designations that could affect high‑profile media figures who have recently diverged from the former president’s line.
