Students gathered outside of the Genome Science Building Monday night to protest the speech of former President Donald Trump deputy assistant Sebastian Gorka.

Gorka was in town to talk about the United States’ relationship with Israel and what the current administration is doing to strengthen the connection.

“Internationally there will be a continued reassertion of our leadership,” he said. “We will stand with our friends, whether they are in the Middle East, like Israel, whether they are in Europe or in Asia.”

The protests called for recognition of Palestine as an independent state.

Despite the noise outside the building, Gorka’s event went smoothly with no interruptions.

“This is an event to let people know what our current presidential administration is doing in terms of Middle East Policy,” said Will Rierson from the UNC College Republicans.

“I don’t want this to be a controversial event. No one really wants it to be that. We’re talking about public policy here.”

Gorka took questions from the audience and touched on a number of other topics including his relationship with the president, how he got involved with the campaign and the Trump family’s connection with Russia.

“The president in public and the president in private is exactly the same man,” Gorka said. “What you see is what you get.”

The event was sponsored by Christians United For Israel, with co-sponsorships from UNC College Republicans and Turning Point USA.

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