Vocal Antisemite Joe Kent Resigns As Director of the National Counterterrorism Center Over Iran War

It is almost comical that the Director of the National Counterterrorism Center would oppose defeating the world’s largest sponsor of terror. Wrong man for the job. Thank you for resigning.

He blamed the Jews.

We have enough anti-semites destroying the country.

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

Joe Kent, a Trump counterterrorism admin, resigned Tuesday over the war in Iran.

Kent said he could not “in good conscience” back the war, and said he believed Iran posed no threat to the U.S.

Kent is a former political candidate and veteran who was deployed to combat 11 times. His wife was killed in action in 2019.

Joe Kent, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, announced his resignation Tuesday, saying he “cannot in good conscience” back the Trump administration’s war in Iran.

FILE – Joe Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, testifies during the House Homeland Security Committee hearing titled “Worldwide Threats to the Homeland,” in Cannon building on Wednesday, December 11, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Ca

Kent explained he supported Trump’s values and foreign policies that the president campaigned on, but claimed that the president was recently “deceived” by Israel into believing that Iran posed a threat to the U.S. and that action was necessary.

“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,” Kent said.

“As a veteran who deployed to combat 11 times and as a Gold Star husband who lost my belived 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.”