The Director of the National Counterterrorism Center under President Trump, Joe Kent, has resigned in protest of the "Iran War," declaring that "pressure from Israel" was the chief factor in launching Operation Epic Fury, and claiming without evidence that "Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation."
But that hasn't always been Kent's position, raising several questions about what might've happened to Kent during his time in the Trump administration.
In 2020, Kent posted on X that Trump's "red line is American loss of life & IR nuke development."
"I personally think we should have crushed their ballistic & nuke capes, but Trump has a plan, he has definitely earned the confidence of any clear eyed observer," he added.
In September of 2024, Kent wrote on X: "Trump used a balance of diplomacy, economic pressure & targeted strikes to contain Iran. The embodiment of peace through strength."
And in October of 2024, Kent wrote: "October 7th b/c happened Biden/Harris gave Iran access to over 100 billion. Trump used diplomacy to build the Abraham accords, cut off Iran’s funding & killed key terrorists. America & our allies were safe & there was less war. No more neocons, no appeasement, Trump ‘24."
Joe Kent, meet Joe Kent.
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) March 17, 2026
January 2020, Kent posted: Trump's "red line is American loss of life & IR nuke development... I personally think we should have crushed their ballistic & nuke capes, but Trump has a plan, he has definitely earned the confidence of any clear eyed… https://t.co/yZG9KBHmC9 pic.twitter.com/OBys4NLerS
In other words, Joe Kent may have been opposed to the typical neoconservatives of the last 25 years, but that didn't mean he opposed "targeted strikes," "peace through strength," and killing "key terrorists," or supported "appeasement."
And yet his resignation indicates he does oppose all these actions, as it is unclear how Operation Epic Fury is any different, or how prolonged negotiations are different than a form of appeasement.
"Until June of 2025, you understood that the wars in the Middle East were a trap that robbed America of the precious lives of our patriots and depleted the wealth and prosperity of our nation," Kent wrote to Trump in his resignation letter.
Clips have resurfaced showing Kent discussing what he predicted would happen during a potential invasion of Iran with notorious grifter and former conservative Tucker Carlson. Kent warned it would end in disaster, but now, with none of his claims coming to pass, he has chosen to attack the president and his decisions as he exits.
FLASHBACK: When Joe Kent went on Tucker's show in January 2024 and spewed a WHOLE bunch of nonsense about what a war with Iran would do to America.
— C. Weber (@CWBOCA) March 17, 2026
"Immediately, it would be very bloody..."
"People will rally around their leader..."
etc...
(Spoiler alert: None of it happened.) pic.twitter.com/GzerQUThYv
Kent and those aligned with his perspective on foreign policy have yet to explain how the operation is nothing more than a prolonged series of targeted strikes (which Kent used to support), as the president himself said the operation will end soon.
🚨 MASSIVE NEWS: President Trump confirms the US will soon be leaving Iran
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) March 17, 2026
"We're not ready to leave yet, but we WILL be leaving in the near future. We're leaving pretty much in the very near future." 🇺🇸
"Right now, they've been decimated from every standpoint! And we've had… pic.twitter.com/vejiSUPEWU
Kent goes on to portray the operation as the start of another “forever war,” a theory pushed by more isolationist Republicans that has yet to prove true, let alone show that the U.S. is even headed in that direction.
🚨 BREAKING: Joe Kent, who works under Tulsi Gabbard as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, has RESIGNED over the war in Iran
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) March 17, 2026
“I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran. Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started… pic.twitter.com/7jExZSC8ea
The bigger concern is that Kent used his resignation to push theories that aren’t even debatable, claims that Israeli officials somehow maneuvered the United States into a war with Iraq, as he alleges they did the same with Iran.
In reality, the prime minister of Israel at the time of the Iraq war opposed that conflict, urging the U.S. to act against Iran instead, which they viewed as the greater threat.
Operation Epic Fury, by contrast, has been long anticipated. President Trump made it clear he would not allow the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism to obtain a nuclear weapon, while also promising support to Iranians who were brutally slaughtered by their own regime earlier this year.
This is not an example of Israel forcing the U.S. into war; it is a president following through on his commitments to both the American people and the Iranian people. As President Trump has said, “peace through strength” is an America First policy. Some officials, it seems, have let pure isolationism cloud their judgment.
Top conservative commentators have blasted Kent for what he claims in his resignation letter.
Joe Kent, a top counterterrorism official, resigned today claiming that Trump was duped by Israel into starting a war with Iran.
— Glenn Beck (@glennbeck) March 17, 2026
Ok, Joe. Where’s the evidence? The consequences of a claim like this are too dire not to be backed with facts. If you have them, I'll stand with you,… pic.twitter.com/TMd5D7DmUX
Ben Shapiro claims that Joe Kent resigned from his position as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center because of "brain rot" and says his resignation letter is full of "conspiracy theories" about Israel.
— Zach Costello (@ZachCostello_) March 17, 2026
Why? Because he and President Trump say so. pic.twitter.com/oHVW11dYyy
