Trump’s ‘Mr Malta’ may not be Maltese

A political storm has erupted in Washington DC, over the true nationality of Sergio Gor, one of the most powerful officials in the second Donald Trump administration, known among White House insiders as ‘Mr Malta’.

Appointed as President Trump’s Director of Presidential Personnel, Gor, whose full name is Gorokhovsky, is responsible for vetting thousands of White House staffers. However, he has so far refused to disclose his birthplace despite referring to himself as Maltese.

The issue arose when the 38-year-old failed to submit his ‘Form 86’, which is necessary for obtaining a security clearance for all White House staffers and includes a thorough background check by the FBI.

According to the New York Post, Gor’s difficulties with this form stem from his birthplace and the required declarations regarding any connections he may have had with foreign countries. The publication also reported that although Gor claims to be from Malta, “there is no evidence that he was born on the island.”

Gor declined to reveal his place of birth, stating only that he ‘was not from Russia’.

Research by The Shift indicates that, although national newspapers such as The Times of Malta and interviews on ONE TV refer to Gor as Maltese-born, this claim seems to be inaccurate, as there is no document in the public registry confirming that the US President’s aide was born in Malta.

Foreign Minister Ian Borg, a close friend of Gor, described the President’s aide as “a Maltese product.”

“Sergio’s early childhood was spent in Malta for nearly a decade. He attended elementary and middle school here. He’s perfectly fluent in Maltese and deeply connected to the island. We are proud to consider Sergio as a product of Malta!” the Foreign Minister told the New York Post when contacted.

Sergio Gor is also fondly remembered in his hometown of Cospicua (Bormla), Malta, where he lived for about 10 years.

Members of the Cospicua community, who spoke to The Shift on the condition of anonymity, recalled a young foreign couple of Eastern European descent who settled in the city with their three-year-old son in the late 1980s.

A 70-year-old resident of Cospicua said: “As soon as I saw Gor on TV recently, I was certain he was the Maltese boy we called the ‘Russian boy’ in our neighborhood. That’s how we referred to Sergio, even though he may not have actually been Russian.”

A former colleague noted, “He talked about Malta all the time. It was as if he were from Malta. He would discuss Maltese pastries and his favourite bakery in Queens (New York).”

In various interviews, Gor has stated that in 1999, at the age of 12, he emigrated from Malta to the US with his family. He attended high school in suburban Los Angeles before graduating from George Washington University in Washington DC.

Gor is known to have spent time with the Republican National Committee before working for Republican representatives Randy Forbes, Michele Bachmann, and Steve King. After a stint at Fox News in New York, he worked with Kentucky Senator Rand Paul for several years.

When Trump left office in 2021, Gor collaborated with Donald Trump Jr, the President’s eldest son, to found Winning Team Publishing, a conservative publication house.

Following Trump’s return to power earlier this year, Gor assumed the role of Director of the President’s Personnel Office, making him one of the most influential appointees in the Trump administration.

The Shift has learned that Gor owns property in Malta and visits the island very frequently.