President Donald Trump has posted a 2020 tweet from Joe Kent on Truth Social in which the now-former director of the National Counterterrorism Center, who resigned sensationally Tuesday, argued in favor of attacking Iran.
In the message sent to Trump on January 8, 2020, shortly after the president ordered the assassination of Quds commander Qasem Soleimani, Kent wrote: “We should not sit and wait for the next attack, wipe Iran’s ballistic capability out and get our troops out of Iraq – they are only targets now.
“No WIA/KIA [wounded in action/killed in action] is a tribute to the professionalism of our military and intel professionals not Iranian restraint.”
The repost was an attempt by the president to firefight the storm surrounding Kent’s resignation, which he announced in a scathing open letter to Trump stressing his opposition to the joint U.S.-Israeli airstrikes on Iran that commenced on February 28.
Kent, a former Green Beret and CIA operator whose first wife, Shannon Smith, was killed in an ISIS bombing campaign in Syria, told the president: “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 this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.
“Early in this administration, high-ranking Israeli officials and influential members of the American media deployed a misinformation campaign that wholly undermined your America First platform and sowed pro-war sentiments to encourage a war with Iran.
“This echo chamber was used to deceive you into believing that Iran posed an imminent threat to the United States, and that should you strike now, there was a clear path to a swift victory.
He continued: “This was a lie and is the same tactic the Israelis used to draw us into the disastrous Iraq war that cost our nation the lives of thousands of our best men and women. We cannot make this mistake again.
“I pray that you will reflect upon what we are doing in Iran, and who we are doing it for. The time for bold action is now. You can reverse course and chart a new path for our nation, or you can allow us to slip further toward decline and chaos. You hold the cards.”
Asked about Kent in the Oval Office Tuesday during a St Patrick’s Day sitdown with Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin, the president said he was a nice guy but added: “I always thought he was weak on security… When I read his statement, I realized that it’s a good thing that he’s out.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt issued a more comprehensive attack on X, saying his letter contained “many false claims” and insisting the president had “had strong and compelling evidence that Iran was going to attack the United States first.”
However, Kent’s resignation has seen him hailed as a hero and a patriot by influential members of the American right like Marjorie Taylor Greene and Candace Owens while a number of MAGA podcasters cited his decision as the latest evidence of the fracturing of their movement over Iran.
Timcast host Tim Dillon said the president’s coalition is “shattered” and declared: “Trump can say ‘I AM MAGA’ all he wants, and it may be true, but lost support means MAGA is meaningless.”
Shawn Ryan said: “Sometimes the most impactful statement you can make is a strong resignation. It’s unfortunate it’s come down to this. God’s speed Joe Kent I hope this wakes some people up.”
Prior to Kent’s exit, another Trump booster, Carrie Prejean Boller, told Piers Morgan Uncensored Monday: “MAGA is dead. It is deader than dead. And Americans are furious. We do not recognize President Donald J Trump anymore.”
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, Kent’s former boss, will appear before the Senate Intelligence Committee Wednesday tasked with defending a war she herself has previously warned against, describing as “stupid and costly.”
