Saturday, August 26, 2017

TRUMP | Triumphal Triumvirate Trampled

Why did Benedictine-trained ideologues
advance extreme agendas? Was St
Benedict somehow responsible?
Among many of my fellow alumni of Benedictine schools (I attended Ampleforth College and Portsmouth Abbey School for a total of six years), it has been a source of embarrassment that three key advisers to Donald Trump are graduates of these schools. 

The three people constituted a strategic triumvirate. All three are now out. In reverse order:

1. Sebastian (Seb) Gorka 

Sebastian Lukács Gorka attended St Benedict's School for Boys, Ealing Abbey. He was the last of the three to leave his job at the White House, which he did on August 25. He issued a resignation letter, but the White House insists that he did not resign — implying that he was fired. The White House announcement said: "Sebastian Gorka did not resign, but I can confirm he no longer works at the White House."

Gorka was a deputy assistant to President Trump, focusing on national security and terrorism. He was closely aligned with departed senior strategist Steve Bannon, and he seemed to link his departure with Bannon’s in his exit letter.

2. Stephen K. Bannon

Steve Bannon attended St Benedict's College preparatory school in Richmond, Virginia. He was Donald Trump's chief strategist before and after Trump's election. On August 19Bannon was forced out. The decision was "mutually agreed" by White House Chief of Staff John Kelly and Bannon. 

3. Sean Spicer

Spicer attended Portsmouth Abbey School. He was Press Secretary at the Trump White House. He resigned on July 21 after opposing President Donald Trump's appointment of Anthony Scaramucci as communications director. (PS Sept. 6, 2017: He damaged his rep working for Trump, says Politico.) 

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