Never Trumpers And Iran Chicken Hawks All Henpeck In Unison To Smear Joe Kent

As news broke Tuesday of Joe Kent’s resignation, a slew of Never Trumpers and Iran chicken hawks immediately launched a venomous smear campaign to discredit the 11-time deployed combat veteran.

Kent, Tulsi Gabbard’s top deputy, announced Tuesday he was resigning from his post as the Director of the National Counterterrorism Center over America’s war with Iran. Shortly thereafter, former Never Trumpers and chicken hawks all got their memos and started peck-peck-pecking away. (RELATED: Trump Reacts To Joe Kent Resigning Over Iran War)

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

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

Bill Kristol, the nepo baby boomer son of neoconservative king Irving Kristol, framed Kent’s decision as a calculated career move:

Interesting. How many other ambitious MAGA pols are seeing a path forward in opposing the war? https://t.co/8HDhLJXmxD — Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) March 17, 2026

Interesting. How many other ambitious MAGA pols are seeing a path forward in opposing the war? https://t.co/8HDhLJXmxD

— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) March 17, 2026

Marc Thiessen, a Bush-era windbag and the kind of DC pundit who puts foreign flags in their bio, lashed out and invoked “antisemitic tropes” to smear Kent:

How little you think of Donald Trump that you believe he can be so easily manipulated by Israel. No one manipulated him into this war. And how pathetic that you use antisemitic tropes to justify your resignation. https://t.co/cb44OuF4aq — Marc Thiessen 🇺🇸❤️🇺🇦🇹🇼🇮🇱 (@marcthiessen) March 17, 2026

How little you think of Donald Trump that you believe he can be so easily manipulated by Israel. No one manipulated him into this war. And how pathetic that you use antisemitic tropes to justify your resignation. https://t.co/cb44OuF4aq

— Marc Thiessen 🇺🇸❤️🇺🇦🇹🇼🇮🇱 (@marcthiessen) March 17, 2026

Erick Erickson, an ex-Never Trumper radio host, called Kent, the man who served 11 combat tours fighting wars he has cheered on from the sidelines, a “performative shit poster”:

This is why Trump should have avoided the performative shit posters for positions. We’re taking out the world’s #1 sponsor of terrorism, and the Director of Counterterrorism is upset about it. He’ll be blaming Israel within hours (he already is!!) and go on Tucker shortly. https://t.co/4jPJYKyYiC — Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) March 17, 2026

This is why Trump should have avoided the performative shit posters for positions. We’re taking out the world’s #1 sponsor of terrorism, and the Director of Counterterrorism is upset about it. He’ll be blaming Israel within hours (he already is!!) and go on Tucker shortly. https://t.co/4jPJYKyYiC

— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) March 17, 2026

Erickson also planted the seeds of a conspiracy theory:

Given this, it is not a leap to speculate that maybe Gabbard and Kent structured Kent’s departure in a way to undermine the war effort. https://t.co/yydMyaOuqw — Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) March 17, 2026

Given this, it is not a leap to speculate that maybe Gabbard and Kent structured Kent’s departure in a way to undermine the war effort. https://t.co/yydMyaOuqw

— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) March 17, 2026

And brought Kent’s wife into it:

There’s a rule in conservative politics that a man is rarely to the right of his wife. Joe Kent lost his first wife in war and remarried a woman who now works for a far-left anti-Israel, pro-Iran website. Kent should have never been appointed to anything in the Trump admin. — Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) March 17, 2026

There’s a rule in conservative politics that a man is rarely to the right of his wife. Joe Kent lost his first wife in war and remarried a woman who now works for a far-left anti-Israel, pro-Iran website. Kent should have never been appointed to anything in the Trump admin.

— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) March 17, 2026

Mark Levin, another ex-Never Trumper who has recently devolved into a bitter, rage-fueled Boomer clown, suggested Kent has been leaking:

I wonder if this guy Joe Kent was about to be fired but quickly resigned first. That’s how these things typically work. He’s part of that radical isolationist Woke Right cabal. Watch how the leftwing media use him to attack the president and the military campaign against Iran.… — Mark R. Levin (@marklevinshow) March 17, 2026

I wonder if this guy Joe Kent was about to be fired but quickly resigned first. That’s how these things typically work. He’s part of that radical isolationist Woke Right cabal. Watch how the leftwing media use him to attack the president and the military campaign against Iran.…

— Mark R. Levin (@marklevinshow) March 17, 2026

And, last but not least, Laura Loomer, the creepy online hall monitor and propagandist, did what she does best: smearing and tattling.

Fire all of the woke Reich narcissists from the Trump admin ASAP. Is this rocket science for the people around President Trump? How many more chances will Trump’s advisors give the freaks at ODNI to sabotage President Trump? What the FK… Do something!!!! — Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) March 17, 2026

Fire all of the woke Reich narcissists from the Trump admin ASAP.

Is this rocket science for the people around President Trump?

How many more chances will Trump’s advisors give the freaks at ODNI to sabotage President Trump?

— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) March 17, 2026

So disrespectful to President Trump. But, don’t say I didn’t warn you about Joe Kent and his wife who works for Trump hater and radical Left Jew hater @MaxBlumenthal. Why does the White House allow these people to have wins? I would fire everyone at @ODNIgov and teach them a… https://t.co/avDuaoeIOe — Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) March 17, 2026

So disrespectful to President Trump.

But, don’t say I didn’t warn you about Joe Kent and his wife who works for Trump hater and radical Left Jew hater @MaxBlumenthal.

Why does the White House allow these people to have wins? I would fire everyone at @ODNIgov and teach them a… https://t.co/avDuaoeIOe

— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) March 17, 2026

In his resignation letter to President Trump, 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 is retired from the U.S. Army Special Forces. He was deployed 11 times and received six Bronze stars.

His first wife, Shannon, a Navy cryptologist, was killed in a suicide bomb attack in Syria in 2019.

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