Conservative podcasters have thrown their weight behind a Trump-appointed counterterrorism official who quit over the Iran war, further deepening divides in MAGAworld.
Timcast host Tim Pool, 40, warned that Joe Kent’s resignation as director of the National Counterterrorism Center on Tuesday was a sign that President Donald Trump’s Make America Great Again movement has become fractured.
“The MAGA Coalition is shattered,” he wrote on X, reposting Kent’s announcement. “Trump can say ‘I AM MAGA’ all he wants, and it may be true, but lost support means MAGA is meaningless.”
Kent, 45, said in a statement that he was departing from the Trump administration because he “cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran,” arguing that the Middle Eastern nation “posed no imminent threat to our nation.”
Shawn Ryan, host of a popular eponymous podcast, also rallied around Kent in an X post.
“Sometimes the most impactful statement you can make is a strong resignation,” he wrote. “It’s unfortunate it’s come down to this. God’s speed [sic] @joekent16jan19 I hope this wakes some people up.”
“And for everyone else who’s just falling in line to keep your position of power, take note,” he added in a second post.
Other prominent MAGA personalities also expressed support for Kent, including former Georgia congresswoman and anti-war crusader Marjorie Taylor Greene, who warned that “they are going to lie about Joe Kent and try to discredit him.”
Trump appointed Kent to the counterterrorism center, overseen by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, in February last year.
Kent was confirmed by the Senate in July despite strong opposition from groups that raised concerns about his links to far-right groups and his promotion of debunked conspiracy theories, including that the 2020 election was “rigged & stolen” and the FBI planned the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot.
A former Army Green Beret who served for two decades, Kent lost his wife, Navy Senior Chief Petty Officer Shannon Kent, to a suicide bombing in Syria in 2019. The couple had two children together. He went on to marry his second wife Heather, a veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, in 2023.
Kent urged Trump in his statement to rethink his war against Iran.
“I pray that you will reflect upon what we are doing in Iran, and who we are doing it for,” he said.
“The time for bold action is now. You can reverse course and chart a new path for our nation, or you can allow us to slip further toward decline and chaos. You hold the cards.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt reposted Kent’s resignation letter with a lengthy statement defending Trump’s decision-making on the war. She took particular issue with Kent’s claim that Iran did not pose an immediate threat to the U.S.
“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,” she said.
Just as Pool pointed out, however, Kent’s resignation has already driven a wedge among MAGA loyalists. A separate camp quickly fell in line behind Leavitt and launched attacks on Kent.
Diehard MAGA devotee Laura Loomer slammed Kent as “full of s--t,” while former top White House aide Taylor Budowich branded him “a crazed egomaniac who was often at the center of national security leaks.”
