Before Donald Trump’s top spy chief submitted his stunning resignation over the Iran war, he had privately confided his plans to his closest political ally, JD Vance.
Joe Kent quit as Trump’s director of the National Counterterrorism Center on Tuesday, accusing Israel of pressuring the US into a conflict he says was built on lies.
Kent, a close ally of Vance and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, presented his resignation letter to the Vice President 24 hours before dramatically quitting. Gabbard was also present at the meeting, according to the Washington Post.
A White House official said Vance ‘encouraged’ Kent to speak to White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and Trump ‘before making any final decisions.
‘The VP encouraged him to be respectful to POTUS,’ the official added.
Just hours later, Kent issued an unsparing resignation letter that claimed Trump had been duped into striking Iran ‘due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby,’ adding: ‘I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war.’
Kent accused the President of reneging on the non-interventionist principles he campaigned on.
It is unclear if Vance warned other members of the administration about Kent’s plan to discredit Trump’s war during his resignation.
The Daily Mail has contacted the Vice President’s office for comment.
Trump welcomed Kent’s resignation while speaking to reporters inside the Oval Office shortly after the dramatic announcement.
‘When I read his statement I realized that it’s a good thing that he’s out because he said that Iran was not a threat. Iran was a threat – every country realized what a threat Iran was,’ the President insisted.
‘When somebody is working with us that says they didn’t think Iran is a threat – we don’t want those people.’
Kent, who deployed to combat 11 times and lost his wife Shannon in what he calls a war manufactured by Israel, is closely aligned with the populist ‘America First’ wing of the Trump administration, including Gabbard and Vance, who have both warned against new Middle East entanglements.
His resignation lays bare a widening split inside Trumpworld. Kent accused high-ranking Israeli officials and members of the American media of running a ‘misinformation campaign’ to deceive the President into believing Iran posed an imminent threat, drawing a direct parallel to the lead-up to the Iraq war.
The divide pits the Gabbard-Vance non-interventionist faction against hawkish Republicans who back US support for Israel and a harder line on Tehran.
Gas prices have surged to an average of $3.80 a gallon from $2.90 before the conflict began three weeks ago, while the narrow strait – through which a fifth of the world’s oil flows – remains blocked by the threat of Iranian mines and missiles.
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The resignation drew immediate praise from prominent ‘America First’ voices.
Marjorie Taylor Greene called Kent ‘a great American hero,’ while Candace Owens went further, declaring Trump ‘a shameful President’ and urging US troops to explore conscientious objection, calling Kent a ‘patriot’.
Not everyone was impressed, Speaker Mike Johnson was asked about Kent’s accusations that the US launched the war against Iran because of Israel.
Johnson again repeated the Trump administration’s claim that there was an immediate threat from Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon. Trump claimed last summer that the US had obliterated Iran’s nuclear program.
