President Trump lost his director for the National Counterterrorism Center. Joe Kent penned and posted his resignation letter today, claiming he cannot remain part of this government, which executed a war against Iran, which Mr. Kent said posed no threat to the United States. He also said Israel pressured us into this military operation. That has not been well received by many a Trump official, and the knives have come out.
Trump was asked about his departure during an Oval Office gaggle with the Irish Taoiseach today:
First statement by President Trump on Joe Kent following his resignation today as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, citing the Iran War and Israel:
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) March 17, 2026
“Well, I read his statement. I always thought he was a nice guy, but I always thought he was weak on security,… pic.twitter.com/R9wNxxAr9m
Well, I read his statement. I always thought he was a nice guy, but I always thought he was weak on security, very weak on security. I didn't know him well, but I thought he seemed like a pretty nice guy. But when I read his statement, I realized that it's a good thing that he's out because he said that Iran was not a threat. Iran was a threat. Every country realized what a threat Iran was. The question is whether or not they wanted to do something about it. And many people, many of the greatest military scholars are saying for years that the President should have taken out Iran because they wanted a nuclear weapon.”
With Kent’s exit, he’s now being framed as Bannon 2.0 on leaks, which probably explains why he wasn't involved in any of the war-planning discussions regarding Operation Epic Fury.
A senior administration official tells FOX, Joe Kent was:
— Aishah Hasnie (@aishahhasnie) March 17, 2026
-a known leaker and he was cut out of POTUS intelligence briefings months ago.
-the WH told DNI Tulsi Gabbard he should be fired for suspected leaks but she never did.
-he has not been part of any Iran planning…
There are many false claims in this letter but let me address one specifically: that "Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation."
— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) March 17, 2026
This is the same false claim that Democrats and some in the liberal media have been repeating over and over.
As President Trump has clearly and… https://t.co/AC8M5L8lye
Senior admin official says Joe Kent was “a known leaker” - and was cut out of POTUS intelligence briefings months ago. He has not been part of any Iran planning discussions or briefings at all.
— Jacqui Heinrich (@JacquiHeinrich) March 17, 2026
Official says also the White House told DNI Gabbard Kent should be fired for…
UPDATE:
NEW: Intelligence official tells @realDailyWire that it’s true that Joe Kent wasn’t part of the planning of the Iran war or briefings on the war.
— Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) March 17, 2026
It is not true that DNI’s Tulsi Gabbard was asked by the White House to fire Kent, source says— if she had been asked to do so, she…
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