MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
The head of the National Counterterrorism Center, Joe Kent, resigned today over his opposition to the war in Iran. Kent is a military veteran. He served multiple tours in Iraq. He had staunchly supported President Trump because Trump had promised not to get involved in new Middle East wars. For more on Kent and his career, let me bring in NPR national security correspondent Greg Myre. Hey, Greg.
GREG MYRE, BYLINE: Hi, Mary Louise.
KELLY: So this is something. You do not often see members of this administration quitting in protest, and Joe Kent has done that and in a very public way. He posted his resignation letter on X. What'd it say?
MYRE: Yeah, he addressed this letter directly to Trump and was very blunt. He wrote, quote, "I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran. Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it's clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby." He also said he supported Trump in all three of his presidential campaigns because Trump, quote, "understood that the wars in the Middle East were a trap that robbed America of the precious lives of our patriots."
KELLY: So how is President Trump responding to this departure?
MYRE: Yeah. Mary Louise, Trump nominated Kent for this key national security position just a year ago, saying he had hunted down terrorists and criminals his entire adult life. Well, today, Trump said he thought Kent was a nice guy but was very weak on security. And then the president went on to say, quote, "it's a good thing that he's out because he said Iran was not a threat. Iran was a threat to every country."
KELLY: I mentioned Kent's service in Iraq, his time as a military veteran. Tell me more about that.
MYRE: Yeah. He's 45 years old. He spent 20 years in the military. He's a former Green Beret deployed 11 times in Iraq and other parts of the Middle East. And he's very much part of this veterans community that thinks those wars were misguided. He's aligned with other administration figures who served in those wars and emerged critical of U.S. involvement in the Middle East. We're talking about Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Vice President JD Vance, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. Though, we should be clear, they have publicly supported the Iran war.
KELLY: They have indeed. Speaking of Tulsi Gabbard, Joe Kent would have worked quite closely with her, correct?
MYRE: Absolutely. He was initially her acting chief of staff last year. He was also on the infamous Signal chat with Defense Secretary Hegseth and others at the start of the bombing campaign in Yemen last year. Senate Republicans confirmed him as head of the National Counterterrorism Center last July, while Democrats were sharply critical. One of the most outspoken was Washington Democratic Senator Patty Murray. She described Kent as a, quote, "conspiracy theorist who espouses white supremacist views." And she said he also pushed the, quote, "false conspiracy that the January 6 insurrection was somehow a deep state plot."
KELLY: I want to mention one thing on a more personal note. Joe Kent was not the only member of his family who was involved in Middle East conflicts. His wife also served there and was killed there. Tell us about her.
MYRE: Yeah. Kent's first wife was Shannon Kent, a senior chief petty officer in the U.S. Navy. She was a highly respected cryptologist deployed to the Middle East several times herself. And she was part of the operations against ISIS in northern Syria when she was killed by a suicide bomber in 2019. The couple has two sons. They were just 1 and 3 at the time of her death.
KELLY: So just quickly, put this into context. How are we seeing opposition to the Iran war playing out among Republicans, among Trump's supporters?
MYRE: Yeah, we're seeing it among, say, prominent podcasters, Joe Rogan, Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, a couple Republicans in Congress. We're hearing a little bit but not a lot at this point.
KELLY: NPR's Greg Myre, thanks.
MYRE: Sure thing, Mary Louise. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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