Trump advisers were reportedly caught off guard Tuesday when Joe Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, posted his stunning resignation letter on social media.
Kent, a former loyalist to President Donald Trump, sent shockwaves through MAGA-world when he openly declared he would step down from his position because he couldn’t support the justification for going to war with Iran.
Kent had informed Trump officials, including White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and Vice President JD Vance, Monday evening that he would step down from his position, citing his objections to the war, The Washington Post reported.
But White House aides did not anticipate Kent publicly posting his resignation on government letterhead, one senior administration official told the Wall Street Journal.
The Independent has asked the White House for comment.
The official told the WSJ that White House aides reportedly scrambled to craft a message downplaying Kent’s importance in the administration and criticizing his position on Trump’s military campaign.
Kent’s scathing letter accused the president of launching the Iran war based on “misinformation” disseminated by Israeli officials and members of the American media. It quickly went viral and had been viewed at least 92 million times on X by Wednesday afternoon.
“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,” Kent wrote.
The former official’s letter was posted as Trump tries to rally public support for military strikes on Iran, which he says are needed to eliminate Iran as a threat to neighboring countries and the U.S.
The president and members of his administration have said the goals in the 4-6 week-long operation are to decimate Iran’s Navy and prevent the country from building a nuclear weapon. But public support for the war is low, and Trump officials have given varying justifications for the attacks.
After Kent’s resignation letter was made public, Trump told reporters he “always thought [Kent] was a nice guy” but that “he was weak on security.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also disputed Kent’s allegations, saying he was making “the same false claim that Democrats and some in the liberal media have been repeating over and over.”
She reiterated that the U.S. had “compelling evidence” compiled from “many sources and factors” indicating Iran was going to attack the U.S. She also reiterated that Iran was “aggressively expanding” its short-range ballistic missiles and intended to make a nuclear weapon.
“The absurd allegation that President Trump made this decision based on the influence of others, even foreign countries, is both insulting and laughable. President Trump has been remarkably consistent and has said for DECADES that Iran can NEVER possess a nuclear weapon,” Leavitt posted on X.
White House officials reportedly previously expressed dislike of Kent to his boss, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, the WSJ reported. While Gabbard was not asked to fire Kent, officials had allegedly sidelined him from the team that briefs the president on intelligence.
As the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, Kent was responsible for overseeing the team that reviews domestic and foreign intelligence to assess terrorist threats and plans for counter-terrorism.
Murkowski rips Trump over ‘not for my president’ crack about learning disabled
Trump honors six US troops killed in Middle East plane crash
Iran-US war live: Trump says ‘other countries’ are responsible for Strait of Hormuz
Trump blames Dems for shutdown despite GOP controlling three branches of government
Senator in ‘illegal orders’ video introduces bill to limit Pentagon use of killer AI
Fed leaves rates unchanged as Powell vows to stay on through DOJ probe
