My Work Here is Done

Gorka apparently realized that he would never have any real responsibilities, and that his dream—of a fully synergized political-military superstate shouting “radical Islamic terrorism” as it goes to total war—was not to be.

Gorka’s letter expressed unhappiness with the direction the Trump administration’s foreign policy has taken, as signaled by the president’s recent speech on Afghanistan:

“Regrettably, outside of yourself, the individuals who most embodied and represented the policies that will ‘Make America Great Again,’ have been internally countered, systematically removed, or undermined in recent months. This was made patently obvious as I read the text of your speech on Afghanistan this week…

“The fact that those who drafted and approved the speech removed any mention of Radical Islam or radical Islamic terrorism proves that a crucial element of your presidential campaign has been lost…

I’m neither naive enough nor self-aggrandizing enough to actually believe that I made a diference. Still, apparently the spotlight placed on Gorka’s history and credentials played some role in his departure:

A source close to the White House said of his decision, “This was more or less going to be a done deal when Bannon submitted his resignation. Not because he didn’t have a protector, but because there is no point in having your life ruined every day if you’re not going to get much accomplished.” The same source said that what did change after Bannon left was that anti-Bannon factions began erecting bureaucratic road blocks to undermine Gorka internally.

The sad thing is that he’s almost certainly upped his value on the wingnut welfare circuit.

Update: As a number of commentators note, it now seems that Gorka was forced out.