Trump Says Joe Kent Exit Good for National Security – ‘I also believed he was weak when it came to security issues. Very weak.’

President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Joe Kent’s resignation as director of the National Counterterrorism Center was actually positive news. Trump argued that Kent had been too weak when it came to matters of national security.

Trump made the remarks during a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office with Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin. During the meeting, a reporter asked the president what he thought about Kent stepping down. In his resignation letter, Kent had written that Iran did not present an immediate threat.

Trump said he had reviewed Kent’s statement and came away with a clear impression.

“I read what he wrote,” Trump said. “I always believed he seemed like a decent person, but I also believed he was weak when it came to security issues. Very weak. I did not know him very well.”

Trump explained that Kent’s comments about Iran confirmed his concerns.

“When I read that he said Iran was not a threat, it became obvious to me that it is a good thing he is no longer in that role,” Trump said. “Iran was a threat. Countries around the world understood that Iran was dangerous. The real question was whether leaders were willing to confront it.”

Trump continued by pointing out that many experts in military strategy have argued for years that American leadership should have acted against Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

“For a long time, many respected military thinkers have said that a president should have dealt with Iran earlier,” Trump said. “They were trying to build a nuclear weapon.”

Here is the tweet from Joe Kent with his letter of resignation attached.

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

Not long after Kent’s resignation tweet, independent journalist Laura Loomer pointed out that Joe Kent had tweeted on September 25, 2024, just 41 days before Election Day 2024, that Iran was indeed a threat.

What happened @joekent16jan19?

Here is your post from 2024 in which you said Iran has been trying to kill President Trump since 2020…

Today, in your resignation letter, you said Iran poses no threat to the US…

Did @netanyahu hold a gun to your head when you tweeted this in… pic.twitter.com/dp4y8r4zJ1

— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) March 17, 2026

Earlier that day, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also addressed Kent’s resignation. She stated that the letter Kent sent to the president contained what she described as several inaccurate claims. The most serious claim, she said, was Kent’s statement that Iran did not pose an imminent danger.

Leavitt wrote on X that the claim about Iran was the same argument repeated by Democrats and some media outlets aligned with them.

She said President Trump had clearly stated that he possessed strong evidence showing Iran was preparing to strike the United States first.

According to Leavitt, that information came from numerous intelligence sources and assessments.

She said the president would never decide to send military forces against another nation without substantial information guiding the decision.

Leavitt also stressed that Iran has long been identified as the leading state sponsor of terrorism around the world.

She said the Iranian regime has openly taken responsibility for killing Americans, attacking U.S. interests, and threatening the United States for years, including in the period leading up to Operation Epic Fury.

Leavitt explained that Iran had been rapidly expanding its short range ballistic missile systems. These weapons were being developed alongside the country’s naval forces. The combination, she said, was designed to give Iran a form of strategic protection.

In her view, that capability would allow Iran to threaten the United States and other nations while shielding itself from retaliation.

She also said the Iranian government intended to use those missile programs as protection while continuing to pursue its long term objective of obtaining nuclear weapons.

Leavitt noted that even during negotiations with the United States, Iran refused to commit to abandoning its nuclear ambitions.

She also criticized Kent for suggesting that Israel pressured the United States into entering the conflict.

Leavitt called that claim ridiculous and offensive.

She said the suggestion that President Trump was influenced by foreign governments was simply not true.

Leavitt argued that Trump has been consistent on one issue for decades.

According to her, he has always maintained that Iran must never be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon.

Leavitt also said she has personally observed how Trump makes decisions in the White House.

Based on that experience, she said the president consistently focuses on what benefits the United States above everything else.

She concluded by stating that every decision he makes is guided by the interests of the country.

Several other figures aligned with the Trump administration also commented on Kent’s resignation.

Among them were House Speaker Mike Johnson, political advisor Taylor Budowich, and radio host Mark Levin.

Johnson addressed the issue during a press conference on Tuesday.

He said he was unsure where Kent was receiving his information but suggested Kent clearly had not been present for key intelligence briefings.

Johnson said the administration had received highly detailed intelligence indicating the situation with Iran was extremely serious.

Budowich took an even harsher tone when discussing Kent.

In a post online, he described Kent as an egomaniac who spent his time trying to weaken the chain of command and undermine the president.

Budowich argued that Kent’s departure was not a principled act.

Instead, he said Kent likely wanted attention before being dismissed from his position.

He ended his remarks by mocking Kent and calling him a loser.

Mark Levin also weighed in on the situation.

In a post on X, Levin questioned whether Kent had resigned on his own or whether he stepped down because he was about to be fired.

Levin suggested that the timing of the resignation raised questions.

He also predicted that left leaning media outlets would use Kent as a source to criticize President Trump and the military actions taken against Iran.

Levin speculated that Kent may have written his resignation letter in part to create a political narrative that critics of the administration could use.

He also raised the possibility that Kent may have been responsible for leaking information from inside the administration, though he said he was only raising questions.

Senator Lindsey Graham also commented on the development.

In a statement posted on X, Graham said Kent’s departure from the National Counterterrorism Center could not have come at a better moment.

#donaldtrump #iranthreat #nationalsecurity