Trump says Joe Kent was ‘weak on security’ after counterterrorism chief resigns over Iran war
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday welcomed the resignation of National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) Director Joe Kent, saying the senior counterterrorism official was “too weak on security” and it was “a good thing” he stepped down after protests over the ongoing war in Iran.
Trump fires Kent after Oval Office comments
Speaking to reporters during a press briefing in the Oval Office, Trump responded sharply after Kent resigned over the administration’s military campaign in Iran.“I always thought he was weak on security, very weak on security,” Trump said, referring to Kent, who served as director of the National Counterterrorism Center.He said that after reading Kent’s resignation statement, “I realized it’s a good thing he’s out.”Trump also told reporters, “I always thought he was a good guy, but I also believed he was weak on security – very weak… When I read his statement, I realized it’s a good thing he’s out, because he said Iran was not a threat. Iran was a threat – every country realized that…”Trump further said that if anyone in his administration does not believe there is a threat from Iran, “we don’t want those people.”“They’re not smart people, or they’re not smart people,” Trump said. “Iran was a tremendous threat”.
Joe Kent resigns, says he can’t support Iran war
Kent announced his resignation on Tuesday, saying he could no longer support the Trump administration’s military action in Iran.Kent said he “cannot in good conscience support an ongoing war in Iran.”In a statement posted on social media, Kent further said, “Iran poses no imminent threat to our country, and it is clear that we started this war because of pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.”The claim directly challenges the White House’s justification for the strikes and underscores growing unease within a section of Trump’s political base over the conflict.
Resignation sheds light on White House’s Iran justification
Kent’s departure is significant because he led one of the US government’s key counterterrorism agencies at a time of heightened domestic security concerns.Kent was confirmed to the post last July on a 52-44 Senate vote, according to news agency AP. As NCTC Director, he oversaw an agency responsible for analyzing and detecting terrorist threats.His resignation reflects widespread unease within parts of Trump’s support base over the war, and shows that questions about the propriety of attacking Iran have now surfaced from within the administration.According to the AP, Kent’s resignation letter was based on what he sees as a lack of evidence that Iran poses an imminent threat, a point the Trump administration has repeatedly disputed.
Republicans defend the attacks, Democrats support Kent on this point
Trump aides immediately rejected Kent’s claim.House Speaker Mike Johnson said there was “clearly an imminent threat” from Iran, arguing that Tehran is close to developing nuclear enrichment capability and rapidly building missiles.Johnson said that if Trump had waited, “we would have had massive American, service member and other casualties, and our installations would have been dramatically damaged”.However, the Democrats found rare common ground with Kent on the central issue of the justification of the war.Senator Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said, “I strongly disagree with many of the positions he has supported over the years, particularly those that risk politicizing our intelligence community. But on this point, he is right: There was no credible evidence of an imminent threat from Iran that would justify pushing the United States into another war of choice in the Middle East.“
The exit came amid growing domestic terrorism concerns.
Kent’s resignation also comes at a sensitive time for US national security.His exit from the administration follows a series of violent incidents in recent days, including attacks in New York City, Michigan and Virginia, that have raised concerns about threats inside the United States.The personnel change at the top of the NCTC comes as intelligence and law enforcement agencies face renewed scrutiny over the homeland threat picture.Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and FBI Director Kash Patel are scheduled to testify before lawmakers this weekend on the threats facing America, with the hearing now likely to be dominated by questions about the Iran war and the intelligence used to justify it.
Divisive person inside and outside the administration
Kent has long been a prominent and controversial figure in Trump-aligned national security circles.According to the AP, before joining the administration, he ran two unsuccessful congressional campaigns in Washington state and had built a profile among Trump supporters through his military and intelligence background.Kent, a former Green Beret, saw combat in 11 deployments before retiring from Special Forces and later joining the CIA, the AP reports. His wife, Navy cryptologist Shannon Kent, was killed in an Islamic State suicide bombing in Syria in 2019.At the same time, Democrats had strongly opposed his confirmation over his past ties to far-right extremists and conspiracy theories, although Republicans defended his anti-terrorism credentials.For now, his resignation has handed Trump another internal flashpoint over the Iran war, with the president using Kent’s exit not as a sign of disagreement but as an opportunity to double down on his claim that the attacks were necessary.