President Donald Trump said Tuesday that it was a “good thing” that National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent resigned, sharply criticizing Kent’s stance on Iran and national security.
Speaking during a White House meeting with Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin on St. Patrick’s Day, Trump said Kent’s departure followed remarks the president viewed as dangerously misguided.
“I read his statement,” Trump said. “I always thought he was a nice guy, but I always thought he was weak on security, very weak on security.”
Kent, who served under Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, stepped down earlier Tuesday, citing his opposition to the ongoing war in Iran. Gabbard has long opposed “regime-change wars,” a position Kent echoed in his resignation.
Trump said Kent’s views ultimately made him unfit to remain in the administration.
“I didn’t know him well, but I thought he seemed like a pretty nice guy, but when I read his statement, I realized that it’s a good thing that he’s out,” Trump said. “Because he said that Iran was not a threat.”
“Iran was a threat. Every country realized what a threat Iran was. The question is whether or not they wanted to do something about it.”
The president also reiterated his hardline stance on Iran’s nuclear ambitions, defending both his past and current policies.
“If I didn’t terminate Obama’s horrible deal that he made, the Iran nuclear deal, you would have had a nuclear war four years ago,” Trump said. “You would have had nuclear holocaust, and you would have had it again if we didn’t bomb the site.”
Trump added that dissent on such matters would not be tolerated within his administration.
“So when somebody is working with us that says they didn’t think Iran was a threat: We don’t want those people,” he said.
“They’re not smart people, or they’re not savvy people. Iran was a tremendous threat, and virtually every NATO nation” agreed.
Kent announced his resignation in a letter posted Tuesday on X, explaining that he could not support the administration’s decision to go to war.
“After much reflection, I have decided to resign from my position as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, effective today,” Kent wrote.
“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.”
Kent framed his resignation as a break from what he described as Trump’s earlier foreign policy principles.
“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.”
He praised Trump’s first-term actions, including targeted military operations.
“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.”
Kent also alleged that external pressure influenced the decision to engage Iran militarily.
“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,” he wrote.
“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.”
A decorated veteran, Kent pointed to his personal experience as central to his decision.
“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.”
He closed his letter with a direct appeal to the president.
“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.”
