Tipsheet

Trump Unloads on Joe Kent Over His Resignation As He Makes Clear He Isn't Happy Being Stabbed in the Back

Dmitri Bolt
Dmitri Bolt  |  March 24, 2026 12:00 PM

President Trump on Monday blasted former director of the National Counterterrorism Center Joe Kent, who reportedly resigned over Operation Epic Fury, after Kent claimed that the president was compromised by senior Israeli officials and misled the public about the imminent threat of Iran.

The former official, already under FBI investigation for alleged information leaks and barred from attending the president’s daily briefings, has drawn sharp criticism for his resignation, as many have lumped him in with Tucker Carlson and other prominent grifters who have sought to try and sweep the president's base out from underneath him.

The president made it known that he wasn't pleased with being stabbed in the back.

"Look, I'm not a fan of the guy," Trump said of Kent. "If you look at his Truths or whatever he went on, if it's X or truth, if you look at his Truths or his statements, he was all for everything. All of a sudden, he wasn't. He was a man that I met at Dover. He came and his wife was killed. He remarried fairly quickly. His wife was killed and I felt badly for him. He ran for Congress, he lost. He ran for Congress again and he lost. I said, you know, he's a guy, nice guy, seemed like a very nice guy. I met him, he was pretty heartbroken."

But I said, you know, it's a shame. He ran for Congress twice, call him up, give him a job in the White House, smart. They gave him a job in the White House and this is what he does to me. You know, being a nice guy doesn't pay off too much. He loses twice in Congress, ran not very good campaigns, should have won, but he loses twice. How do I get him? I have my people call him because I didn't deal with it for the most part. I saw him a couple of times, but I never dealt with him at all. I had no idea his ideology was left or right, whatever it is.

Trump then rejected the notion that Iran posed no imminent threat to the United States. Allies of the administration have similarly challenged critics, asking at what point the danger would be considered imminent, and why waiting until then would be preferable to acting now while the regime is already on it's knees.

"I can say this," the president added. "He said very strongly that Iran is not a threat. Iran's been a threat for 47 years and there's not a country in the world that doesn't agree with me on that. So I take this guy, Joe Kent, who lost twice for Congress, pretty badly, and tough, and it was devastating. And I know that he lost his wife. So instead of letting him live out his life, I brilliantly have my people call him and offer him a job in security, essentially, in the White House. And what does he do? He goes out, and he says that Iran is not a threat to get publicity. Now, he probably signed up with CNN or maybe signed up with your division of Newsmax. I don't know."

As Kent faces mounting criticism over his public departure, he appears to be walking back some of the claims he made in his resignation letter.