Sebastian Gorka, deputy assistant to the president and senior director for counterterrorism, told Newsmax on Monday that "the power of Trump" is bringing wrongfully detained Americans home from overseas and sending America-hating guests in the United States packing.
Russian-American ballerina Ksenia Karelina was sentenced to 12 years in a Russian labor penal colony after being convicted of treason for donating approximately $50 dollars to a New York-based charity that provides humanitarian aid to Ukraine. She was freed last week in a prisoner exchange with Russia.
"That's the power of [President Donald] Trump, that is the art of the deal," Gorka said on "Wake Up America." "Whether it's Russia, whether it's Gaza, whether it's the border, whether it's tariffs, we are living the book 'The Art of the Deal' right now for all Americans, whether you're a hostage being freed or whether you're somebody suffering in one of the states along the southern border. We are here to bring America back."
Unlike the Biden administration, Gorka said, the U.S. under Trump isn't releasing terrorists to spring American citizens from foreign prisons.
"We aren't giving leaders of the Taliban or al-Qaida back to their buddies — this is very, very different," he said.
Since Trump took office on Jan. 20, Gorka said, his second administration has "rescued more than 45 hostages and illegally-detained U.S. citizens."
"That is more than half of the four-year total for the Biden administration," he said. "So, that's what moving at the speed of Trump is and that's America First."
The Trump administration is also working to remove those who are in the U.S. on a temporary status who hate America and call for "the destruction of Western civilization," Gorka said, pointing to Columbia graduate and Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil. An immigration judge ruled on Friday that Khalil can be deported for organizing anti-Israel protests last year on Columbia's campus.
"When you come to this nation as a guest, whether you are on a student visa, green card holder — as I was until I became a U.S. citizen — you are a guest, which means you have to behave like a guest," Gorka said. "If you are calling for the destruction of Western civilization, if you're shouting 'From the river to the sea,' which is a genocidal chant, if you're associated with terror groups like Hamas, I am sorry, you have forfeit your right to be here as a guest. … It's really that simple."
GET TODAY NEWSMAX+:
NEWSMAX is the fastest-growing cable news channel in America with more than 30 million people watching!
Reuters Institute reports NEWSMAX is one of the top news brands in the U.S.
You need to watch NEWSMAX today.
Get it with great shows from Rob Schmitt, Greta Van Susteren, Greg Kelly, Carl Higbie, Rob Finnerty – and many more!
Find the NEWSMAX channel on your cable system – Go Here Now
BEST OFFER:
Sign up for NEWSMAX+ and get NEWSMAX, our streaming channel NEWSMAX2 and our military channel World at War.
Find hundreds of shows, movies and specials.
Even get Jon Voight's special series and President Trump's comedy programs and much more!
Watch NEWSMAX+ on your smartphone or home TV app.
Watch NEWSMAX anytime, anywhere!
Start your FREE trial now: NewsmaxPlus.com
Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.