OAN Staff Brooke Mallory
5:30 PM – Tuesday, March 17, 2026
The Trump administration moved on Tuesday to contain the slew of press queries following the resignation of Joe Kent, the now-former director of the National Counterterrorism Center. He recently stepped down from his position in a public protest while citing the ongoing U.S.-Israeli military campaign against Iran.
In a swift rebuttal, both President Donald Trump and White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed Kent’s allegations — specifically his claims that Iran posed no imminent threat and that the conflict was instigated by foreign pressure — as “false,” “insulting,” and “absurd.”
The rift marks the most significant internal defection since the United States and Israel launched Operation Epic Fury in late February.
Kent, a former Green Beret and a once-staunch ally of the president, released a resignation letter alleging that the administration had been led into a “trap” by a misinformation campaign orchestrated by Israeli officials and influential media figures. Kent asserted further that the ongoing turmoil serves no American benefit and contradicts the “America First” non-interventionist platform that defined the president’s 2024 campaign.
Following Kent’s abrupt resignation announcement, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt issued a comprehensive statement on social media and during press briefings — adopting a tone of sharp indignation.
Leavitt labeled the notion that President Trump was unduly influenced by foreign entities as “laughable,” asserting that the decision to strike was born solely from “strong and compelling evidence” that Iran was preparing a first strike against American assets.
Leavitt also emphasized that the Trump administration’s intelligence was compiled from “many sources and factors,” and that the U.S. Commander-in-Chief acted to preempt an evil regime that has long been the world’s leading state sponsor of Islamist terrorism.
Additionally, the press secretary highlighted Trump’s consistency, noting that the president has argued for decades that Iran must never possess a nuclear weapon. She described Kent’s resignation not as a principled stand, but as a “theatrical” and performative move by an official who was out of step with the realities of national security.
President Trump, while speaking to reporters during a St. Patrick’s Day reception at the White House, echoed Leavitt’s tone. While he described Kent as a “nice guy,” the president also added that he “always thought [Kent] was weak on security.”
Trump also similarly pushed back on the idea that he had been pressured or blackmailed into the conflict, suggesting that he may have “forced” the hands of allies to take a stand against Tehran.
The president reiterated that the Iranian regime did in fact pose a direct and immediate danger to the United States, rendering Kent’s own personal assessment of the threat level inconsequential.
Meanwhile, the departure of Kent, who served under Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, exemplifies the growing ideological divide within the “America First” coalition. While the administration maintains a unified front, Kent’s resignation has energized more moderate critics who argue that the ongoing conflict is a departure from the president’s “America First” promise.
Nonetheless, proponents of Operation Epic Fury and U.S. intervention in Iran argue that the administration is taking a necessary, proactive stance against a regime that has long destabilized the Middle East and threatened American interests.
Contending that “peace through strength” is the only language Tehran understands, they have highlighted how past diplomatic efforts only allowed the Iranian government to advance its nuclear ambitions and expand its network of regional proxies. From this perspective, the military actions are completely necessary to prevent a much larger, more catastrophic future conflict by dismantling the IRGC’s capabilities before they can launch a coordinated attack on U.S. assets or allies.
Many in this “camp” dismiss Kent’s criticisms as isolationist, maintaining that an “America First” policy must include the protection of global trade routes and the enforcement of “red lines” to maintain American credibility on the world stage.
According to a government source who reached out to Fox News, Kent wasn’t even involved in any of the government’s Iran briefings. However, his role as the head of the NCTC — the nation’s hub for analyzing terrorist threats — gives his claims about the lack of “imminent threat” a bit more weight, analysts argue.
Although certain figures within the MAGA base have expressed some unease following the announcement, GOP leaders in Congress, such as Senator Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), have still stood by the president, dismissing Kent’s letter as “discredited theories.”
Senate Democrats, who initially fought Kent’s confirmation, have also since utilized his sudden resignation to sharpen their critique of the Trump administration.
They are attempting to frame Kent’s departure as a “major public admission” of internal instability, claiming that the exit of such an official serves as an indicator that the underlying justification for the military campaign against Iran is fundamentally flawed.
Who Is Joe Kent? What Are His Politics?
Following his 20-year career as an Army Special Forces officer, Kent was registered with the Libertarian Party from approximately 2012 to 2019, a shift he attributed to his support for Ron Paul’s anti-interventionist foreign policy.
In 2019, he changed his affiliation to the Democrat Party and remained registered through the 2020 cycle. During this period, Kent cast a vote for Bernie Sanders in the 2020 Democrat primary, later claiming that he did so because he viewed Sanders as the “easiest” candidate for Trump to defeat in the general election.
After launching two unsuccessful congressional bids in Washington’s 3rd District as a Republican in 2022 and 2024, Kent was nominated by President Trump last year to serve as the Director of the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC). He was confirmed by the Senate in July 2025 and served in that capacity until his resignation on Tuesday.
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