The head of the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center resigned on March 17, saying he “cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran.” He is the first top Trump administration official to quit over the conflict.
Joe Kent, a decorated former Army Ranger and CIA paramilitary officer, was a top aide to Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who oversaw all U.S. counterterrorism efforts in the U.S. and overseas.
Kent lost his beloved wife to war.
In a March 17 post on social media platform X, Kent said that “after much reflection, I have decided to resign from my position as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, effective today.”
He believes Israel lured Trump into the war.
Personally, I don’t see it. Trump has many people influencing him, not just Israel. He has people in his sphere and in the Gulf States influencing him.
In the end, Trump does what he wants.
President Trump felt the same way in 1980. Israel didn’t influence him in 1980.
President Trump speaking about Iran in 1980 pic.twitter.com/plQttyE8Pt
— sᥕᥱᥱ һіᥒg❤️() (@55SweetThing) March 8, 2026
Karoline Leavitt said Joe Kent made false claims and corrected him.
There are many false claims in this letter, but let me address one specifically: that “Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation.” This is the same false claim that Democrats and some in the liberal media have been repeating over and over. As President Trump has clearly and explicitly stated, he had strong and compelling evidence that Iran was going to attack the United States first. This evidence was compiled from many sources and factors. President Trump would never make the decision to deploy military assets against a foreign adversary in a vacuum.
Iran is the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism. The Iranian regime is evil. It proudly killed Americans, waged war against our country, and openly threatened us all the way up to the launch of Operation Epic Fury. Iran was aggressively expanding their short-range ballistic missiles to combine with their naval assets to give themselves immunity – meaning they would have a degree of a capabilities that would give them immunity to hold us and the rest of the world hostage.
The regime aimed to use those ballistic missiles as a shield to continue achieving their ultimate goal – nuclear weapons.
They would not say ‘yes’ to peace.
The President, through his top negotiators, gave the regime every single possible opportunity to abandon this unacceptable course by permanently giving up their nuclear ambitions in exchange for sanctions relief, free nuclear fuel, and potential economic partnerships with our country. But they would not say yes to peace because obtaining nuclear weapons was their fundamental goal.
President Trump ultimately made the determination that a joint attack with Israel would greatly reduce the risk to American lives that would come from a first strike by the terrorist Iranian regime and address this imminent threat to America’s national security interests.
All of this led to President Trump arriving at the determination that this military operation was necessary for U.S. national security, which is why he launched the massively successful Operation Epic Fury.
The president determines the threat.
The Commander-in-Chief determines what does and does not constitute a threat, because he is the one constitutionally empowered to do so – and because the American people went to the ballot box and entrusted him and him alone to make such final judgments. And finally, 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. As someone who actually witnesses President Trump’s decision-making process on a daily basis, I can attest to the fact that he is always looking to do what’s in the best interest of the United States of America — period. America First.
President Trump also said he thinks Joe Kent is a nice person, but he’s weak and is glad he is gone.
There are many false claims in this letter but let me address one specifically: that “Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation.”
This is the same false claim that Democrats and some in the liberal media have been repeating over and over.
As President Trump has clearly and… https://t.co/AC8M5L8lye
— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) March 17, 2026
These are the community notes on the post.
Joe Kent himself has stated that Iran is a threat to the United States. Kent Post
Iran’s nuclear weapons program does pose a threat to the USA. Iran recently claimed it had enough enriched uranium for 11 nuclear bombs: CBS News
5% needed for civilian purposes: Arms Control
Let’s not forget that the whole Iran mess was mishandled at the beginning in 1979 by Democrat Jimmy Carter. After Ronald Regan and before Trump, the USA did not have a great leader as President, just terribly flawed men that gave no proof they really loved and believed in America.