Right-wing podcasters, many of whose support helped Donald Trump sweep back into the Oval Office in 2024, have heralded the resignation of counterterrorism chief Joe Kent as further proof of a MAGA breakdown.
“The MAGA Coalition is shattered,” Tim Dillon, host of the Timcast, wrote on X in response to Kent’s announcement. “Trump can say “I AM MAGA” all he wants, and it may be true, but lost support means MAGA is meaningless.”
Shawn Ryan, host of the Shawn Ryan show, added, “Sometimes the most impactful statement you can make is a strong resignation. It’s unfortunate it’s come down to this. God’s speed @joekent16jan19 I hope this wakes some people up.”
In a resignation letter posted online Tuesday, Kent, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, said he could not “in good conscience,” support Trump’s decision to take the U.S. to war with Iran, because Iran posed “no imminent threat to our nation.”
“So there was at least still one American with a soul in the administration. Now… who knows,” Ian Carrol, while conspiracy theorist Candace Owens, a long-time friend of Charlie Kirk, described Kent as “an American hero, patriot and veteran.”
“Trump is a shameful President,” Owens wrote, adding, “may American troops take his lead and look into conscientious objection.”
Trump’s resounding win over Kamala Harris was due in part to the backing of such influencers, who were introduced to him by his youngest son, Barron Trump.
Many form part of the so-called Manosphere, the online community of male influence that promotes harmful views that are often misogynistic, racist and homophobic under the guise of wanting a return to more “traditional values.”
“The resignation of the #2 official in the U.S. intelligence community over the Iran war is extremely telling,” wrote podcaster and former DHS agent Myron Gaines, real name Amrou Fudl, who recently featured in a Netflix documentary by British journalist Louis Theroux about the Manosphere.
“He held one of the most prestigious and powerful positions in the entire apparatus complete with high rank, enormous respect, and unrestricted access to every piece of classified intelligence on the conflict.
“Yet he still chose to walk away… That’s not the act of someone with doubts. That’s someone who saw the raw, unfiltered truth and could no longer justify what he was seeing.”
For anyone questioning his patriotism, the message is clear: He looked at the full picture and concluded this war cannot be defended. @joekent16jan19 has enormous courage for doing this!”
Stalwart members of the MAGA movement, including Marjorie Taylor Greene and model Carrie Prejean Boller, also threw their weight behind Kent and his decision.
“Joe Kent is a GREAT AMERICAN HERO. God bless him and protect him!” Greene wrote on X, while in a separate post, Prejean added: “Thank you for having the courage and integrity to resign from this disgraceful administration.”
Kent was confirmed to the role of NCC director last summer despite strong opposition from certain quarters, who raised concerns about his links to far-right groups and promotion of conspiracy theories, such as the “stealing” of the 2020 election
Kent served for two decades as an Army Green Beret and lost his wife, Navy Senior Chief Petty Officer Shannon Kent, to a suicide bombing in Syria in 2019 – which he referred to in his resignation letter.
