Former Trump adviser Sebastian Gorka speaks at UNC as protesters roar outside

Joel Brown Image
Tuesday, November 14, 2017
Former Trump adviser speaks at UNC-Chapel Hill
Sebastian Gorka delivered a 90-minute speech while left-wing protesters screamed outside the auditorium.

CHAPEL HILL, North Carolina (WTVD) -- With a sizable contingent of officers, UNC-Chapel Hill Police kept a close watch on the events inside and outside the Genome Sciences Building auditorium while Sebastian Gorka, one of the most controversial speakers to visit campus in some time, delivered his 90-minute address.

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The protesters who call themselves part of the "Trump resistance" chanted and yelled so loudly that at times, they could be heard inside the hall.

"No Gorka, no KKK, no fascist USA," they chanted from the sidewalk of Bell Tower Drive.

Inside, Gorka regaled UNC with stories of his political rise within the sphere of Donald Trump; a trusted campaign advisor who went on to become Deputy Advisor to the President.

Some of President Trump's supporters stood outside the auditorium donning red Make America Great caps while anti-Trump demonstrators labeled Gorka as a racist, fascist and an Islamophobe.

"Sebastian Gorka is best known for his inflammatory statements about Muslims. He said the biggest problem the country has is black-African on black-African crime," said Bo Eberle, a UNC graduate student in religious studies.

Afterward, Gorka dismissed his critics in Trumpian fashion.

"They're victims of fake news. They should read my book, read what I said," Gorka said.

Gorka was invited by the UNC College Republicans to address U.S.-Israeli relations in the age of Trump, which touched off loud arguments outside about the road to Middle East peace.

"Hearing something else besides the liberal ideology is always good, said Josh Jackson, a UNC junior who attended and said he enjoyed Gorka's visit. "(Liberal ideology is) shoved down our throats in our classes."

In a news release calling on UNC administrators to cancel Gorka's appearance, anti-Trump group Indivisible Triangle said Gorka's alleged Islamophobia includes comments that violence is a fundamental component of the Islamic faith.

"They shouldn't misquote me, that's what I would say," Gorka said of the far-left group's criticism. "There's no such thing as monolithic Islam. If anybody says there is, they don't know what they're talking about."

Gorka left the White House in late August.

While he remains steadfastly loyal to Trump, Gorka did express concern about entrenched Washington bureaucrats who could short-circuit the president's agenda.

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