Past Tweet Comes Back to Bite Counterterrorism Director Who Quit Over Iran War
“@realDonaldTrump We should not sit and wait for the next attack, wipe Iran’s ballistic capability out …”
Joe Kent, the now-former Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, set off a political firestorm on Tuesday when he resigned from his position over his opposition to the war in Iran. The twice-failed congressional candidate made a big splash when he posted his resignation letter to his former ally, President Donald Trump, on X.
Kent’s letter may have been the hottest story on the internet on Tuesday afternoon. Given that he is a veteran and a Gold Star husband, he had a certain amount of credibility. The legacy media were delighted that he had defected from the Trump administration and had done so with such fanfare.
He claimed in his missive that “Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation” and that it was clear “we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.”
After much reflection, I have decided to resign from my position as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, effective today.
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… pic.twitter.com/prtu86DpEr
— Joe Kent (@joekent16jan19) March 17, 2026
Perhaps Kent’s most astonishing comment was the following:
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. 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.
The Daily Caller’s Reagan Reese asked Trump for a comment on Kent’s very public stunt. His response can be viewed in the video below.
.@DailyCaller’s @ReaganReese_: “Your Director of National Counterterrorism, Joe Kent — he just resigned today. He said he can’t support your conflict with Iran. What’s your reaction to that? And did you —”
President Trump: “Well, I read his statement. I always thought it was a… pic.twitter.com/JQULSOZjlu
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) March 17, 2026
Karma came quickly for Kent.
Shortly after Trump’s remarks to reporters, he dug up an old tweet Kent had posted on January 7, 2020, that directly contradicted what he’d stated in his resignation letter. The tweet was written several days after the Trump administration’s targeted assassination of Qasem Soleimani, the powerful commander of Iran’s Quds Force, the clandestine division of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Kent wrote:
@realDonaldTrump 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 US WIA/KIA is a tribute to the professionalism of our military and intel professionals not Iranian restraint.
@realDonaldTrump 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 US WIA/KIA is a tribute to the professionalism of our military and intel professionals not Iranian restraint.
— Joe Kent (@joekent16jan19) January 8, 2020
Trump promptly posted a screenshot of the tweet on Truth Social, bringing a quick end to Kent’s attempt at virtue signaling.
The reaction on social media was fierce and immediate. Here are some of the replies:
If anyone is curious where Joe Kent picked up the nihilistic ideology of antisemitic conspiracy theories leading to his public proclamation that the Islamic regime of Iran is not a threat to the U.S. and the current conflict is only due to Israeli control over U.S. policies, look… pic.twitter.com/73tIMTTF30
— Adam Mossoff (@AdamMossoff) March 17, 2026
“I stand firmly with Israel”⁰“Our ally Israel”⁰“Islamism is a threat to western civilization”
Now:⁰“My wife died in a war manufactured by Israel.”
Weaponizing your wife’s death to sell your lie is shameless, and it makes you a real piece of shit. pic.twitter.com/B1j2HTu2qy
— Caт Bee 🪶 (@CatShoshanna) March 17, 2026
Joe Kent’s current wife writes for crazy lib Max Blumenthal at the Grayzone outlet. She’s been rage posting about Trump for a little while now
.@MaxBlumenthalShe probably convinced him to quit. Or Trump was going to fire him so he quit first to make a virtue… pic.twitter.com/goLSVPELBW
— 🇺🇲Salty Texan (@texan_maga) March 17, 2026
Others have dug up several more recents posts from Kent that run counter to the thoughts he expressed in his letter. In the post below, dated April 12, 2024, Kent wrote that “Iran is poised to attack.”
Iran is poised to attack, Biden & the DC war machine has given them plenty of options to harm us by leaving our troops deployed in small bases in Iraq, Syria & Jordan.
Biden also gave Iran the funding for its proxies to attack us & Israel.
The solution isn’t billions more in…
— Joe Kent (@joekent16jan19) April 12, 2024
In another post dated September 25, 2024, Kent discussed Iran’s assassination threat against Trump.
Iran has been after Trump since January of 2020 after he ordered the targeted killing of the terrorist Qasem Soleimani.
This isn’t a new threat.
The secret service consistently failing to secure Trump is new.
We need to figure out exactly why these failures keep happening. https://t.co/UprKS9SGLW
— Joe Kent (@joekent16jan19) September 25, 2024
One X user inquired, “Curious whose payroll you’re on…what a traitor you[‘ve] become.”
Others asked, “What changed since you wrote this, Joe?” and “So did they stop being a threat in 2025?”
We are your worst enemy Kent! You can’t lie your way out of this you traitor. pic.twitter.com/IZFYkXxwEV
— American Revivalist (@MikeCBurlew) March 17, 2026
The internet is forever, Kent. How did you forget that?
Elizabeth writes commentary for Legal Insurrection and The Washington Examiner. She is an academy fellow at The Heritage Foundation. Please follow Elizabeth on X or LinkedIn.
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Comments
How perfect: a guy who once said ‘wipe Iran’s ballistic capability out’ now swears Iran was never a threat. Talk about evolving—just wish his memory kept up with his ambition.
You misspelled “devolving.”
Kent was for it before he was against it. Isn’t inconsistency a mark of a man of (Democrat) principles?
I reiterate that the FBI should scrutinize the bank accounts and assets of this utterly greasy, despicable, brazenly dishonest, hypocritical, psychotic, narcissistic, Jew-hating fool, Kent, to search for signs of/evidence of Iranian, Qatari or Chinese communist baksheesh.
This idiot displays all the hallmarks of a subversive fifth columnist who’s come under the influence of a foreign power.
It’s a sign of this piece of excrement’s pathological narcissism, that he either forgot about, or, didn’t care about, the fact that his tweets from just a few years ago completely contradict the “Iran represents no threat to the U.S.” assertions contained in his wretched, dishonest, self-serving, histrionic, deliberately inflammatory and Jew-hating resignation letter publicity stunt.
While I don’t agree with the name‑calling, I do agree with your assessment. However, as the article suggests, the “influence of a foreign power” you mention is most likely his current wife. He seems to be trying to align himself with her views and priorities, perhaps in the hope of gaining more of her approval and support.
Spare me your holier-than-thou sanctimony about name-calling, because I really don’t give a damn.
Name-calling is appropriate where a man feels entitled to slander and vilify Israel and Israeli Jews — who aren’t dealing with sufficient enmity and hatred, apparently — in his resignation letter stunt.
That’s evil, despicable and indefensible behavior, but, you’re more concerned about my calling this reprobate some pejorative names?
Your moral compass is misaligned and needs an adjustment.
Oh, and “piece of excrement” isn’t sufficiently sanitized for your delicate sensibilities?
Okay, how’s this, then — “Kent is a totally feckless, subversive, Jew-hating piece of shit.”
Fixed it.
So, in other words, pussy-whipped?
It’s sad to see a man lose his testicles in an errant marriage.
Even if he gets them back, they will be paste.
It happens a lot. Too much.
This is what started the “kneeling” in the NFL. Colin Kaepernick was trying to impress his new liberal girl friend.
Correction: The FBI should examine the bank accounts and assets of the *new spouse* because that’s where the sudden left turn originated.
And, according to RedState, this subversive idiot is now under investigation for leaking classified information.
https://redstate.com/ben-smith/2026/03/18/joe-kent-accused-us-of-war-lies-then-landed-under-fbi-leak-investigation-n2200383
Correction: He’d been under investigation for months before he resigned.
Thanks; noted. The point still stands; to wit, this idiot’s judgment and loyalties being called into question.
Kent was last seen kissing the hem of Tucker Carlson’s pants.
Hem, or zipper?
Somebody reach out to X.
There should be an “OOPSIE!!” button in addition to the HEART button for every tweet there. Such a button would be very useful for Kent’s past tweets.
He married an AWFL; the effects are predictable.
He did not choose wisely, in wives or going after PRESIDEN Trump.
Imagine that everything Kent said about the influence of Israel in the decision to attack Iran is true. His unstated major premise is that Israeli influence always leads America to do things against its own interests. When reluctant to do something in one’s own best interests, sometimes it requires a push from a friend. This is not uncommon in interpersonal relationships. It is difficult, if not impossible, to imagine it is a scenario that never manifests in international relationships. “A decision influenced by Israel” does not equal “a bad decision.” When the decision is criticized as bad, that claim must be supported with its own arguments.
“Others asked, “What changed since you wrote this, Joe?”
Without having researched dates, new wife seems to be the first obvious answer.