On Tuesday morning, Joe Kent, President Trump's Director of The National Counterterrorism Center, resigned his post, and stated he was doing so because he is opposed to the war with Iran, claiming that Iran posed no imminent threat to the U.S., and that we started the war due to, "pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby."
Kent, who has been accused of having ties to white nationalists, also accused some in the American media of misinformation on the Iran threat, so how would the media cover this?
It was a mixed bag for the nightly newscasts, some more comprehensive than others in giving viewers information on Kent. ABC's World News Tonight's Rachel Scott seemed to cover more than most in her report.
SCOTT: Tonight the the Administration's top counterterrorism official resigning in protest over President Trump's war with Iran, declaring Iran posed no immanent threat to our nation. Joe Kent Director of The National Counter Terrorism Center writing, 'I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran. It's clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby. Kent's accusing Israel of a misinformation campaign to deceive Trump into believing that Iran posed an imminent threat to the United States, and that 'should we strike now, there was a clear path to swift victory. This was a lie.' President Trump who has long supported Kent's political career, despite Kent's controversies and past associations with anti-Semites, today brushing off his resignation.
TRUMP: I always thought he was a nice guy. But I always thought he was weak on security. Very weak on security. I didn't know him well.
SCOTT: Today the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee Mark Warner saying, "Joe Kent's record is deeply troubling. But on this point, he is right. There was no credible evidence of an imminent threat from Iran."
On CBS Evening News, Reporter Ed O'Keefe read from Kent's post, "It's clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby." No mention of past accusations against him.
Over on NBC Nightly News, White House correspondent Gabe Gutierrez read Kent's accusations about Israel's "pressure" and its "powerful American lobby" and reported, "Kent's statement also drawing rebukes for alleged anti-Semitic overtones," citing Republican congressman Don Bacon's post on Kent's departure: "Good riddance anti-Semitism is an evil I detest, and we surely don't want it in our government."
PBS NewsHour foreign-affairs correspondent Nick Schifrin mentioned Kent's attack on the media.
SCHIFRIN: He (Kent) publicly resigned in protest, writing to President Trump directly, saying quote, 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. This was a lie.".... Kent is an army veteran who deployed 11 times, and whose wife was killed by ISIS in Syria.
Schifrin did not mention that in his resignation letter, Kent blamed Israel for his wife's death in 2019, that she was killed "in a war manufactured by Israel."
Fox News's Special Report With Bret Baier probably had the weakest coverage, with White House Correspondent Aishah Hasnie giving it some 30 seconds.
HASNIE: Today the Director of the National Counter Terrorism Center, Joe Kent, resigned, claiming Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and that Trump bowed to pressure from Israel. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said, quote, the President had strong and compelling evidence that Iran was going to attack the United States first.
TRUMP: I always thought he was weak on security. Very weak on security.
HASNIE: Two sources from inside the administration confirm to Fox News Kent was not involved in briefings about Iran.
None of the reports came right out and called Kent's post anti-Semitic. The New York Post Editorial Board noted that Kent had said back in 2020, that Trump should have attacked Iran's nuclear and ballistic capabilities, How did they all miss that one? Not one network went there.
