President Trump BLASTS Joe Kent Following Surprise Resignation Announcement

President Trump has responded to Joe Kent’s surprise resignation.

As the WLT Report previously covered, Joe Kent, the Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, announced his resignation on Tuesday afternoon.

Kent, in a shocking resignation letter, shared that he cannot, in good conscience, support the war in Iran.

Now, Trump has responded to Kent’s move and doesn’t seem so concerned, as Kent, in his own words, was “weak” on security.

Mediaite was the first to report on Trump’s remarks on Kent:

President Donald Trump tore into the counterterrorism official who resigned in protest over the war in Iran on Tuesday, saying the man he himself appointed to the post was “weak” and “it’s a good thing that he’s out.”

Appearing at the White House alongside Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin to mark St. Patrick’s Day, Trump was asked about the sudden departure of Joe Kent, who quit earlier in the day with a scathing statement that read, in part, “I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran.”

“I always thought he was weak on security, very weak on security,” Trump relied. “It’s a good thing that he’s out.”

Kent resigned in protest on Tuesday over Trump’s war with Iran.

“After much reflection, I have decided to resign from my position as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, effective today,” wrote Kent in a letter to Trump, which he also made public on social media.

Trump on Joe Kent: "I always thought he was weak on security. Very weak on security. It's a good thing that he's out." pic.twitter.com/225kN39r2f

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 17, 2026

Backup here if needed:

White House Press Secretary also responded to Kent’s resignation letter.

Take a look:

There are many false claims in this letter but let me address one specifically: that "Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation."
 
This is the same false claim that Democrats and some in the liberal media have been repeating over and over.
 
As President Trump has clearly and… https://t.co/AC8M5L8lye

— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) March 17, 2026

Full Text:

There are many false claims in this letter but let me address one specifically: that “Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation.”

This is the same false claim that Democrats and some in the liberal media have been repeating over and over.

As President Trump has clearly and explicitly stated, he had strong and compelling evidence that Iran was going to attack the United States first.

This evidence was compiled from many sources and factors. President Trump would never make the decision to deploy military assets against a foreign adversary in a vacuum.

Iran is the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism.

The Iranian regime is evil. It proudly killed Americans, waged war against our country, and openly threatened us all the way up to the launch of Operation Epic Fury.

ADVERTISEMENT

Iran was aggressively expanding their short-range ballistic missiles to combine with their naval assets to give themselves immunity – meaning they would have a degree of a capabilities that would give them immunity to hold us and the rest of the world hostage.

The regime aimed to use those ballistic missiles as a shield to continue achieving their ultimate goal – nuclear weapons.

The President, through his top negotiators, gave the regime every single possible opportunity to abandon this unacceptable course by permanently giving up their nuclear ambitions in exchange for sanctions relief, free nuclear fuel, and potential economic partnerships with our country.

But they would not say yes to peace because obtaining nuclear weapons was their fundamental goal.

President Trump ultimately made the determination that a joint attack with Israel would greatly reduce the risk to American lives that would come from a first strike by the terrorist Iranian regime and address this imminent threat to America’s national security interests.

All of this led to President Trump arriving at the determination that this military operation was necessary for U.S. national security, which is why he launched the massively successful Operation Epic Fury.

The Commander-in-Chief determines what does and does not constitute a threat, because he is the one constitutionally empowered to do so – and because the American people went to the ballot box and entrusted him and him alone to make such final judgments.

And finally, the absurd allegation that President Trump made this decision based on the influence of others, even foreign countries, is both insulting and laughable. President Trump has been remarkably consistent and has said for DECADES that Iran can NEVER possess a nuclear weapon.

As someone who actually witnesses President Trump’s decision-making process on a daily basis, I can attest to the fact that he is always looking to do what’s in the best interest of the United States of America — period.

America First.

Kent was also reportedly a leaker:

Senior admin official says Joe Kent was “a known leaker” – and was cut out of POTUS intelligence briefings months ago. He has not been part of any Iran planning discussions or briefings at all.

Official says also the White House told DNI Gabbard Kent should be fired for…

— Jacqui Heinrich (@JacquiHeinrich) March 17, 2026