All posts tagged "Joe Kent"

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), who was defeated by a Trump-backed primary challenger earlier this year, made a visit on Sunday to Iowa — a traditional destination for candidates exploring a presidential run.

Massie, who broke with Donald Trump in opposing the Iran war and defied the administration through his sponsorship of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, has emerged as a leading figure, alongside former congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene and conservative commentator Tucker Carlson, of a new anti-interventionist, populist faction challenging the GOP.

Addressing Gun Owners of America’s annual gathering in Des Moines, Massie thanked the organizers “for having this event in Iowa,” adding, “There’s no place I’d rather be — maybe New Hampshire or South Carolina. Just kidding.”...

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was irritated on Wednesday after a reporter mentioned Joe Kent — the top Trump intelligence official who resigned after claiming President Donald Trump changed his story on the Iran war.

Leavitt was responding to a reporter's question during a White House press briefing and had a sharp reaction to the comments from Kent, the former director of the National Counterterrorism Center and close MAGA ally who stepped down last week from his role. Kent has said that Iran "posed no imminent threat to our nation" and that the president acted under "pressure from Israel."

"Joe Kent said that the president's red line shifted from 'Iran cannot obtain a nuclear weapon' to 'Iran cannot pursue nuclear enrichment.' What is the administration's response to that criticism?" the reporter asked. ...

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt reversed her tune on Tuesday after previously saying there was "no imminent threat" from Iran — then five days later saying the complete opposite.

Leavitt wrote a lengthy response on X to Joe Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, the first administration official to speak out against the war and exit his role. Kent was a longtime MAGA ally of President Donald Trump, who appointed him to the job, and early Tuesday shared his decision on X. He described why he would not support the ongoing conflict, saying, "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 war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.""There are many false claims in this letter but let me address one specifically: that 'Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation,'" Leavitt wrote in rebuttal. "This is the same false claim that Democrats and some in the liberal media have been repeating over and over."MeidasTouch podcaster Adam Mockler pointed out Leavitt's words and how they had changed from days ago in an X post on Tuesday."You literally just said there was no threat," Mockler wrote, highlighting Leavitt's own words from March 12.

Last week, Leavitt was critical of an ABC News report in a separate post on X, blaming the outlet for "providing false information to intentionally alarm the American people."

"TO BE CLEAR: No such threat from Iran to our homeland exists, and it never did," she wrote....

The Trump administration was raging on Tuesday, dropping a bizarre comeback after it was called out over previous claims involving the Iran war.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt reversed her comments from last week, when she was critical of an ABC News report and blamed the outlet in a post on X for "providing false information to intentionally alarm the American people."

"TO BE CLEAR: No such threat from Iran to our homeland exists, and it never did," Leavitt wrote. ...

A military general revealed on Tuesday that more Trump administration resignations are likely on the horizon after Joe Kent, head of the National Counterterrorism Center, resigned in protest over the U.S. war in Iran.

Retired U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Steve Anderson told CNN anchors Wolf Blitzer and Pamela Brown that he expects more Trump allies to step down over the military conflict in the Middle East.

"I think that this is absolutely significant," Anderson said. ...

MAGA followers were enraged Tuesday after Joe Kent, head of the National Counterterrorism Center, resigned in protest over the U.S. war in Iran.

Kent, a longtime MAGA ally of President Donald Trump who was appointed by him, shared his public statement and rejection of the conflict in the Middle East. This was the first time an administration official had rebuked the military action and spoken out against it.

MAGA loyalists had seething responses to Kent's announcement: ...