Joe Kent, the intelligence official who quit over the Iran war, is facing a fierce backlash from within Donald Trump’s own camp — with one former aide branding his exit a self-serving stunt.
Taylor Budowich, who served as Trump’s deputy chief of staff, dismissed Kent’s resignation as anything but principled after the former official posted his exit letter on X.
“Joe Kent is a crazed egomaniac who was often at the center of national security leaks, while rarely (never?) producing any actual work,” Budowich wrote.
He went further, alleging that Kent spent all of his time working to subvert the chain of command and undermine the President of the United States.
Dismissing the timing of the resignation, Budowich added: “This isn’t some principled resignation — he just wanted to make a splash before getting canned What a loser.”
Kent, an Army veteran and former Republican congressional candidate, had announced his resignation citing opposition to the ongoing conflict with Iran.
“I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran,” Kent wrote, arguing that Tehran posed “no imminent threat” and suggesting the conflict was driven by pressure from Israel and its allies in the United States.
Kent served as a senior deputy to Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, at a time when the intelligence community was already grappling with internal tensions over alleged leaks. Gabbard had previously referred three individuals to the Justice Department in connection with such cases.
President Trump, reacting to Kent’s departure, struck a more measured tone but did not hold back his criticism. “I always thought he was a nice guy,” Trump said, before adding, “but I always thought he was weak on security, very weak on security.” He described Kent’s resignation as “a good thing.”
Behind the public sparring, sources indicated that Kent may already have been under pressure before stepping down, lending weight to Budowich’s claim that the resignation was pre-emptive, accoridng to the New York Post.
Kent’s personal story has long-drawn attention. His wife, Shannon, was killed in a 2019 ISIS suicide bombing in Syria, a loss that shaped much of his public life and political messaging.
