Joe Kent’s resignation from his national security post over opposition to military action against Iran follows earlier public statements in which he warned about threats posed by the country and supported striking its ballistic missile and nuclear capabilities.
Kent stepped down March 17, 2026, as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, saying he “cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran.” In announcing his resignation, Kent added that Iran “posed no imminent threat to our nation” and said the war was started “due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.”
In his resignation letter to President Trump, Kent stated that continued Middle East conflicts “robbed America of the precious lives of our patriots and depleted the wealth and prosperity of our nation.” He added that he “cannot support sending the next generation off to fight and die in a war that serves no benefit to the American people,” citing both his extensive combat deployments and his experience as a Gold Star husband.
The stance contrasts with Kent’s earlier public posts on X, where he described Iran as a significant threat and advocated for direct action against its military capabilities.
On January 8, 2020, Kent wrote:
In that thread, he also shared the following:
“Additional sanctions will only be effective if they address Iran’s access to the Iraqi economy.
Trump’s responses have been very measured. He has gone against both R&D conventional thinking & advice.
This is nuance accounts for Trump’s appeal with those skeptical of our wars.”
He further stated:
On September 29, 2024, he wrote:
Clearly, he was all for containment of Iran’s nukes and terrorist aggression through strategic and tactical strikes until he was cut out of POTUS intelligence briefings because he’s a known leaker and he’s married to a woman who works for a far-left anti-Israel, pro-Iran website.
Tulsi Gabbard should have canned his ass months ago.
Since Kent announced his run for office in 2021, he has surrounded himself with what amounts to a who’s who list of the Woke Reich. Kent is buddies with Bannon, Tucker, MTG, Gaetz, and others. He caught flak for talking to Nick Fuentes during his campaign and was forced to disavow. So, to win the Groypers back, he appeared on a podcast called American Virtue, hosted by David Carlson (no known relation), who was also a white nationalist with ties to the Bull Moose Project and the Heritage Foundation. He’s been known to pal around with the Proud Boys and the Three Percenters. He did an interview with Greyson Arnold, a white nationalist Fuentes fanboy.
In 2024, Kent appeared on Tucker’s show and said that war with Iran would be long, drawn-out, and bloody, and that Iranians would rally around their leader. (Seems the opposite is currently happening.) Since pulling this stunt, he’s gotten accolades from the likes of Carrie Prejean Boller, Megyn Kelly, and Candace Owens. His good friend Tucker is defending him. He’s also been invited to the Catholic Prayer For America event hosted by Catholics For Catholics.
………Brenden Dilley, a podcaster and memester, declared that he knew Kent was the source of many leaks since August. Fox News Senior White House Correspondent Jaqui Heinrich said that Kent had been frozen out of intelligence briefings months ago. Former Deputy White House Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich posted to X that Kent spent most of his time trying to undermine Trump.
He didn’t really resign, he was forced out.
Good riddance.