It's been a busy news day already, and we're barely mid-day. Tuesday began with news that two of Iran's top leaders were taken out by Israeli air strikes. Not long after that came the news that Joe Kent, a top aide to Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard, was resigning as director of the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) over his disagreement with Operation Epic Fury.
Top Aide to Tulsi Gabbard Resigns in Explosive Letter, Blames Israel for 'Iran War'
Kent's announcement came as a surprise to some, but there were swift reactions to the news. President Trump addressed the announcement during a meeting with Taoiseach of Ireland, Micheál Martin, in the Oval Office.
WATCH:
.@POTUS: "I always thought he was a nice guy, but I always thought he was weak on security... 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 tremendous threat." https://t.co/atnLqkUsde pic.twitter.com/d8t8DZEUfu
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) March 17, 2026
"Well, I read his statement. I always thought he was a nice guy, but I always thought he was weak on security — very weak on security. I didn’t know him well, but I thought he seemed like a pretty nice guy.
"But 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 question is whether or not they wanted to do something about it. And many people — many of the greatest military scholars — are saying for years that presidents should’ve taken out Iran because they wanted a nuclear weapon."
Trump then turned his focus to the Iran Nuclear Deal and why it was such a bad bargain for the U.S.:
"They were...if we didn’t do the attack — or, if...I’ll go a step further, if I didn’t terminate the Iran Nuclear Deal given to us — one of the worst deals ever made — by Barack Hussein Obama. Remember when they sent Boeing 757s over there, loaded with cash — [turns to address Martin directly] hundreds of millions of dollars — [pointing at Martin] he would’ve been very happy. This was a wonderful — they sent hundreds of millions — people forget that. Does anybody remember? [pointing at reporter] Right? You remember! Hundreds of millions of dollars in a Boeing 757 — I think they had two of them, loaded. They took the seat seats out, and they put cash, and it was so much that there wasn’t a bank in Virginia, Maryland, or D.C. that had any money left. They stripped them of all their money, put it into place, sent it to Iran — almost as ransom. That’s not gonna happen with Trump. And nobody ever did anything about...nobody ever said anything. Can you imagine if I did that?!
"So, they’ve been a threat for a long time. But they'd have really been a threat — if I didn’t terminate Obama‘s horrible deal that he made, the Iran Nuclear Deal, you would’ve had a nuclear war four years ago...you would’ve had nuclear holocaust. And you would’ve had it again if we didn’t bomb the site."
He then returned to the matter of Kent's resignation and why, given Kent's apparent view on the matter, it's just as well that he's moving on:
"So, when somebody is working with us that says they didn’t think Iran was a threat? We don’t want those people because — and there are some people, I guess, who would say that, but they’re not smart people, or they’re not savvy people. Iran was a tremendous threat, and virtually every NATO nation — and this is a thing: If they told me it wasn’t a threat and therefore they don’t wanna help — but when they say it was a threat, and it was a major threat — everyone of them — I think every one of them; I don’t know of one that said they’re not a threat — but when they say it was a threat, but we’re not gonna help, I think they’re very foolish."
Will the president have more to say about Kent's departure later? He doesn't seem overly perturbed by it, nor does he appear at all deterred from the current course of action against Iran.
Editor's Note: For decades, former presidents have been all talk and no action. Now, Donald Trump is eliminating the threat from Iran once and for all.
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