An aide to President Trump disputed reports that national security adviser Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster told aides not to say “radical Islamic terrorism” during his first meeting with his new staff last week.
Reports from the meeting indicated McMaster, known to have an independent streak, said using the phrase wasn’t helpful in fighting terrorism. But, deputy assistant to the president Sebastian Gorka said that report wasn’t accurate.
“He didn’t actually say that. You shouldn’t believe everything you read in the New York Times,” Gorka told NPR Wednesday.
“He was talking specifically about ISIS at the time. We’re talking about the broader threat.”
Gorka said the administration would continue to say “radical Islamic terrorism” and refer to terrorists as “jihadists.” Previous administrations have declined to use those terms because experts say it gives a religious credibility to terrorists that the U.S. wants to deny, and that it impedes the ability of the U.S. to strike partnerships with moderate Muslim nations.
He said not using those terms allows the threat to be downplayed.
“We’re not wavering on this one. The threat has been obfuscated for eight years under Obama,” Gorka said. “You couldn’t even use the word ‘jihad’ when the enemy called themselves jihadists.”
Gorka also declined to specifically say whether President Trump believes Islam is a religion during the interview.
He said it was not the White House’s place to wade into that kind of line of thought.
“This is not an ideological seminary. This is the White House,” Gorka said. “And we’re not going to get into theological debates. If the president has a certain attitude toward a certain religion, you can ask him.”
