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Chapter 1: Why did Joe Kent resign from the National Counterterrorism Center?
Donald Trump is panicking as one of his top officials has quit over Trump's disastrous war in Iran. Joe Kent, who serves as the Director of National Intelligence, the National Counterterrorism Center, he's the number two under Tulsi Gabbard.
He just posted that after much reflection, he will be resigning his position as the director of National Counterterrorism Center, effective today because in good conscience, he can no longer support the ongoing war in Iran. He writes that 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.
He says it was an honor to serve under Donald Trump and Tulsi Gabbard. He says, may God bless America. He is a combat veteran. He is a gold star husband in the MAGA world. He is beloved in the MAGA world.
Chapter 2: What impact does Joe Kent's resignation have on Trump's administration?
And so this is sending massive shockwaves throughout MAGA right now. As one of the top MAGA people, one of Donald Trump's top officials has officially resigned over Donald Trump's disastrous war in Iran. This, of course, comes at a time when things are getting worse there as the United States is stuck in a quagmire there of Donald Trump's making.
And we're now learning that one of the main aircraft carriers, that is outside of Iran, the Gerald Ford, the USS Gerald Ford. They've just received a notice after basically being on duty for close to a year that they will remain in the Middle East until May. And that USS Gerald Ford, as you may recall, back on March 12th, suffered a very serious fire aboard that started in the laundry room.
They said it wasn't because of any foreign attacks or anything like that. But the ship's just been out there for a very long time. It has resulted in 600 sailors and crew members sleeping on the floor right now.
Chapter 3: How is the USS Gerald Ford involved in the ongoing conflict in Iran?
And this USS Gerald Ford, which has now been informed that it will now be deployed at least through May. That tells you how long this war at a minimum is likely going to last. It has to go to Greece to get serviced right now.
as the Gerald Ford and even the Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, they're suffering a lot of issues just from the wear and tear of the deployments that Trump is putting them through. Let me just go back for a moment and read you Joseph Kent's resignation letter, because there's more to it that I think is important to read to kind of sum up what's going on in the MAGA room.
Because again, this guy, top Trump official, top MAGA guy, here's what he writes. He goes, President Trump, after much reflection, I've decided to resign from my position as director of National Counterterrorism Center effective today. 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 the war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.
Chapter 4: What does Joe Kent's resignation letter reveal about U.S. foreign policy?
I support the values in foreign policy that you campaigned on in 2016, 2020, 2024, which you enacted in your first term. Until June of 2025, you understood that the wars in the Middle East were a trap that robbed America of the precious lives of our patriots and depleted the wealth and prosperity of our nation.
In your first administration, you understood better than any modern president how to decisively apply military power without getting us drawn into never-ending wars. You demonstrated this by killing Soleimani and by defeating ISIS. By the way, I don't agree that he defeated ISIS or I don't agree that he was good in his first term. I'm just reading you what this resignation letter states.
Early in this administration, high-ranking Israeli officials and influential members of the American media deployed a misinformation campaign that wholly undermined your America First platform and sowed pro-war sentiments to encourage a war with Iran. This echo chamber was used to deceive you into believing that Iran posed an imminent threat to the United States.
and that should you strike now, there was a clear path to a swift victory.
Chapter 5: How are Trump's allies reacting to the situation with Iran?
This was a lie and is the same tactic the Israelis used to draw us into the disastrous Iraq War that cost our nation the lives of thousands of our best men and women. We cannot make this mistake again. As a veteran who deployed to combat 11 times and as a Gold Star husband who lost my beloved wife, Shannon, in a war manufactured by Israel.
I cannot support sending the next generation off to fight and die in a war that serves no benefit to the American people nor justifies the cost of American lives. I pray that you will reflect upon what we are doing in Iran and who we are doing it for. 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.
Chapter 6: What are the implications of the U.S. military presence in the Middle East?
It was an honor to serve in your administration and to serve our great nation. Signed, Joseph Kent, Director, National Counterterrorism Center. Now, one of the things we're hearing from a lot of America's allies, former allies, and generals and admirals and other top military officials in the United States is they hold the cards now, referring to Iran.
And Trump's allies fear Iran has been slipping beyond the president's control. Trump's supporters who backed his promise to avoid new Middle East wars worry Iran's attacks on shipping are a push toward U.S. escalation and maybe even boots on the ground political rights. political rights. To a large extent, they hold the cards now, said one person close to the White House.
They decide how long we're involved and they decide if we put boots on the ground.
Chapter 7: How do recent events affect the stability of the Middle East?
Meanwhile, in Europe, the vice president of the European Union Commission, their foreign minister, Kaha Kailas, says, we just really don't understand what the United States is doing. Like, We, at a logical level, don't understand the moves it's making. And then she also said, it's pretty clear now when you deal with the United States, you just have to take unpredictability of the U.S.
into account. The U.S. is no longer a rational actor, and we just have to proceed as such. Meanwhile, you had the UAE airspace temporarily closed, all of it for a significant period of time. You had a major hotel in Baghdad in Iraq that was hit by these Iranian drones.
You had the Iranian-backed militia groups in Iraq with those FPVs, those first-person view drones, flying it around the green zone and posting videos showing that they could strike any target at
Chapter 8: What are the economic consequences of Trump's war strategy?
will. You had additional strikes in northern Israel, central Israel, in Bahrain. And then you have the United States and Israel striking Iran hard. Israel claimed that it was able to kill Iran's security chief, Ali Larijani, and the Basij force commander, Golomerza Soleimani. And
we believe that that actually is something that happened i mean just because it's claimed doesn't mean it always happened but we believe that that actually did in fact take place now lots of people though who understand the inner workings of iran though feel like
Killing Ali Larrajani makes doing any type of negotiated resolution with Iran more difficult, while Ali Larrajani was certainly one of the top figures in Iran that's kind of day-to-day running the Islamic Republic. He was also somebody viewed as having the institutional knowledge to work with the more extreme elements.
I mean, Lara Jani is an extreme guy, but even the more extreme elements within the Islamic Republic military, the Revolutionary Guard, to try to bring about resolution. So lots of people feel like all you're going to do by taking out Lara Jani is show what an existential threat this war is and for Iran to just keep on going. We'll keep you posted, but that's what a lot of the
individuals who really study the day-to-day of Iran are saying that this actually makes any resolution with Iran more difficult by taking out Lara Jani. And perhaps that's what Israel wanted in doing that to try to continue this thing. But, you know, we will keep you posted there. Should be noted that Iran's parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagar Galibaf,
He's just recently commented saying that the security landscape in the Strait of Hormuz has fundamentally changed. He's accusing the U.S. of acting under Israeli influence, saying, "...I don't know what happened in the Epstein affair or in those files or what documents exist on Americans that put them on such a leash in Netanyahu's hands and lead them to act this way."
Golubov also said Trump is lying several times a day out of desperation, claiming the U.S. failed to achieve quick victory and that all of the U.S. bases have been targeted by us. He added that Iran had long warned neighboring states that the U.S. military presence does not bring security, saying recent events have proven that point.
And Golubov said that the face and order of the Middle East are changing, adding that regional countries will shape their own security rather than the United States. So those are words of someone who doesn't seem to be interested in a resolution anytime soon. But again, we will continue to follow this day by day.
Meanwhile, back in Washington, D.C., you have Kevin Hassett, Donald Trump's national economic advisor, says, you know, look, this war is not hurting the American economy. It's just hurting consumers. And consumers are the least thing we care about right now. Now, if you're like, Ben,
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