White House Counterterrorism Adviser Sebastian Gorka Defends Focus on Shooter’s Ideology, Draws Criticism

Washington, D.C., August 31, 2025 - White House Senior Director for Counterterrorism Sebastian Gorka sparked controversy today by characterizing last week’s Minnesota school shooting as an act of terrorism driven in part by the shooter’s transgender identity. Appearing on CNN’s State of the Union, Gorka argued that the gunman’s manifesto-laden with antisemitic and anti-Israel rhetoric and the phrase “kill Donald Trump” scrawled on a magazine-reflected an ideological motive beyond mere gender identity, which he described as part of a “disturbing trend” in mass shootings.

Gorka told host Brianna Keilar that Robin Westman’s statement of being “tired of being trans” should be examined alongside explicit calls for violence in order to understand the shooter’s full motivations. He asserted, “It’s not about sexual proclivities. It’s about noticing a very disturbing pattern toward violence,” citing other high-profile cases in which shooters identified as transgender or nonbinary.

Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) sharply rebuked Gorka’s remarks immediately following the CNN segment. In an interview with CNN, Omar accused the White House adviser of attempting “to deflect from the reality” of how the attacker breached Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis, resulting in two student deaths and over a dozen injuries. She insisted that focusing on the shooter’s gender identity was a distraction from “effective solutions” such as banning assault weapons and bolstering mental-health resources.

The CNN exchange continues a recent pattern of heated debates over the factors driving mass shootings. Critics of Gorka’s approach argue that conflating gender identity with violence stigmatizes transgender individuals and detracts from policy‐driven efforts to curb gun violence. Supporters contend that acknowledging every facet of a perpetrator’s background, including ideology and identity, is essential to crafting comprehensive prevention strategies.

As lawmakers in both parties call for renewed action on gun control, today’s controversy underscores the deep divisions over how best to interpret and respond to the motivations behind America’s deadliest shootings.