Iran war is rapidly fracturing Trump’s MAGA base, a top intelligence aide’s sudden exit sends a dire warning

A top intelligence official’s sudden resignation is sending some serious signals that President Trump’s “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) base might be seeing a split over the current U.S. military operation in Iran. This is a pretty significant development, especially given how publicly it all went down.

Joe Kent, who serves as the director of the National Counterterrorism Center and is a top aide to Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard, announced his resignation on Tuesday in a social media post. He openly criticized the ongoing military operations. Former CIA Director John Brennan weighed in on the situation, suggesting that Kent’s very public resignation was designed to have an impact, as reported by The Hill.

Brennan said that he believes Kent is trying to be one of the first to carry out such a public resignation in the middle of a war, signaling a fracture within Trump’s coalition. In his resignation letter, which he addressed directly to President Trump, Kent made it clear he couldn’t “in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran.”

Kent wrote that Iran posed no imminent threat to the U.S. and that it’s clear the war started due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby

Kent urged the president to “reflect” on the strikes against Iran, emphasizing that “the time for bold action is now.” Kent concluded his letter with a powerful statement, telling the president, “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.”

The U.S. and Israel kicked off joint strikes against Iran on February 28, which quickly led to an exchange of attacks between the countries. Tehran has since retaliated with airstrikes against neighboring Gulf states and U.S. military bases in the region, escalating the conflict.

However, DNI Tulsi Gabbard was quick to refute Kent’s accusations. She took to X to defend President Trump’s decision to intervene militarily in the country. Gabbard stated that after reviewing all the available information, President Trump concluded that the “terrorist Islamist regime in Iran posed an imminent threat,” and he took action based on that conclusion.

Despite Gabbard’s public statement, Brennan suggested that Kent’s resignation could definitely create some friction between Gabbard and the White House. He pointed out that Kent was essentially an acolyte of Gabbard, appointed to his position by President Trump with her advice and recommendation. Brennan believes this situation is now a big concern for the White House because of how publicly it all unfolded, especially at a time when there’s already significant concern and criticism about the direction of this war.