We may be seeing the first real signs of opposition to the Iran war, and it’s coming from a Trump-appointed official.
National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent — a former Green Beret — announced his resignation today. Before his nomination, he was chief of staff to Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard..
What’s notable about him is that Democrats strongly opposed his nomination as he was called an “extremist” due to America First leanings and frequent appearances in right-wing podcasts. His wife was killed in the previous Trump administration by a suicide bomber in Syria.
His resignation underscores a growing rift within the MAGA movement about US military involvement and alliances.
In a letter on twitter, he wrote:
President Trump,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 war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.I support the values and the foreign policies that you campaigned on in 2016, 2020, 2024, which you enacted in your first term. Until June of 2025, you understood that the wars in the Middle East were a trap that robbed America of the precious lives of our patriots and depleted the wealth and prosperity of our nation.In your first administration, you understood better than any modern President how to decisively apply military power without getting us drawn into never-ending wars. You demonstrated this by killing Qasam Solamani and by defeating ISIS.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.As a veteran who deployed to combat 11 times and as a Gold Star husband who lost my beloved wife Shannon in a war manufactured by Israel, I cannot support sending the next generation off to fight and die in a war that serves no benefit to the American people nor justifies the cost of American lives.I pray that you will reflect upon what we are doing in Iran, and who we are doing it for. The time for bold action is now. You can reverse course and chart a new path for our nation, or you can allow us to slip further toward decline and chaos. You hold the cards.It was an honor to serve in your administration and to serve our great nation.
The other notable thing we learned today is that the fire on the USS Gerald R. Ford was much worse than oringially believed. It burned for 30 hours and left more than 600 crew members (out of 4500) without sleeping quarters. Reportedly, the fire broke out last week in the ship’s main laundry area, according to the New York Times but conspiracy theorists are not believing that.
This article was written by Adam Button at investinglive.com.