A senior adviser to President Donald Trump called Politico “a joke,” ”gutter press,” and “fake news” during an enraged outburst in the middle of a live interview at a conference put on by the outlet.
The meltdown at the Politico Security Summit came after Dasha Burns, Politico’s chief White House correspondent, fact-checked counterterrorism adviser Sebastian Gorka to his face.
Burns had asked Gorka how the Trump administration knows whether the people it’s deporting are gang members.
“You mean the tattoos—MS-13 on the knuckles—doesn’t help,” Gorka fired back. He was referring to Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man accidentally deported by the Trump administration and held against court orders in an El Salvador megaprison.
“The tattoo did not say MS-13,” Burns said, before quickly adding, “I don’t want to get into it.”
The question of whether four symbols tattooed on Abrego Garcia’s hand represent the gang MS-13 has become a political flashpoint.
Critics have accused Trump of photoshopping the actual characters “MS-13″ onto Abrego Garcia’s knuckles alongside the symbols in attempt to mislead the public. The White House maintains that the tattoos are obviously a sign of gang affiliation.
Burns’ fact-check appeared to set Gorka off.
“Oh, of course you don’t,” he raged. “It’s just accidents… See, this is why Politico is a joke. This is why you are gutter press and fake news.”
“You’re sitting here, live, defending a member of MS-13,” he continued. “That’s why I regret coming here, because this isn’t journalism. This is protecting those who hate America. Shame on you. We are saving lives.”
From there, Gorka went on a lengthy rant that saw him accuse Politico of failing to adequately cover the stories of “children and women” who are the victims of violent crimes committed by undocumented immigrants.
“We have covered those stories,” Burns pushed back. Gorka interrupted her and continued to rage about Politico until Burns finally managed to change the subject.
Despite the outburst, the interview continued for another 10 minutes, with Gorka assuming a tone that was combative—but less outright enraged.
The White House and Politico did not immediately return the Daily Beast’s requests for comment on the incident.
Gorka, 54, is a British-American far-right talk show host. He was tapped as a deputy assistant in the White House during Trump’s first term and quickly developed a reputation as an aggressive, hostile, and condescending interview subject.
After seven months, he departed the role after he failed to pass security clearance checks. But Gorka was brought back as a deputy assistant and senior director for counterterrorism for Trump’s second term.
Burns, 33, is a former NBC News reporter who joined Politico in 2025 to report on Trump’s White House and help author its flagship newsletter, the Playbook.
Later on Thursday, Gorka took to social media to tout the interaction on stage with Burns.
“Sometimes you just have to take the Fight straight to the #FakeNews,” he wrote. “Is @politico on the side of terrorists?”
Trump’s administration has often railed against mainstream reporting outlets, including Politico, for critical coverage of the president.
In February, the White House seized control of the press pool covering the president. It is also in the midst of a legal battle with the Associated Press after banning the wire service from the press pool for its refusal to adopt Trump’s preferred name for the Gulf of Mexico.
