Tulsi Gabbard’s Response to Joe Kent Resignation Questioned, “Trump Concluded”
Joe Kent, the Trump-appointed Director of the National Terrorism Center, resigned this week citing objections to President Trump’s Iran war. Explaining his decision in a letter to the President, Kent said Iran posed “no imminent threat to our nation” at the time of the U.S. attack.
[Note: The National Terrorism Center operates under the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), headed by Trump appointee Tulsi Gabbard, with whom Kent worked closely.]
After much reflection, I have decided to resign from my position as Director of the 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 this… pic.twitter.com/prtu86DpEr
— Joe Kent (@joekent16jan19) March 17, 2026
Hours after Kent shared his resignation letter, Gabbard wrote: “Donald Trump was overwhelmingly elected by the American people to be our President and Commander in Chief. As our Commander in Chief, he is responsible for determining what is and is not an imminent threat, and whether or not to take action he deems necessary to protect the safety and security of our troops, the American people and our country.
“The Office of the Director of National Intelligence is responsible for helping coordinate and integrate all intelligence to provide the President and Commander in Chief with the best information available to inform his decisions. After carefully reviewing all the information before him, President Trump concluded that the terrorist Islamist regime in Iran posed an imminent threat and he took action based on that conclusion.”
More than one critic of the Trump administration has recirculated Gabbard’s January 7, 2020 tweet which read “No War With Iran.” (She was a Democrat then.)
Of course, a six-year-old post can promote a stance that becomes untenable due to changes in geopolitical circumstances. Yet observers are pointing out that Gabbard’s new post does not necessarily reveal a change in her outlook.
What happened to you? pic.twitter.com/D4BKdt7Zjh
— The Green Dragon Tavern (@greendragonhq) March 17, 2026
In her response to Kent’s resignation, Gabbard does not assert that the Intelligence Community assessed that Iran posed an imminent threat, but rather that the President alone made that determination. She also did not say that she personally believed Iran was an imminent threat, nor did she say she agreed with Trump’s assessment.
As ABC News’ Chief Washington Correspondent Jonathan Karl noted: “The Director of National Intelligence says that an imminent threat is whatever the president says is an imminent threat …. But nowhere in this statement, does she say that she agrees that Iran posed an imminent threat — or that the intelligence supports such a conclusion.”
The Director of National Intelligence says that an imminent threat is whatever the president says is an imminent threat ….
But nowhere in this statement, does she say that she agrees that Iran posed an imminent threat — or that the intelligence supports such a conclusion. https://t.co/RiaEhtvHQv
— Jonathan Karl (@jonkarl) March 17, 2026