| | | | BY PHILIP ELLIOTT
Senior Correspondent, TIME | For the last three weeks, the split in the MAGAverse over the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran was a slow simmer on the Right. On Tuesday, it hit full boil and moved to the main stage. | Top counterterrorism official Joe Kent, a Donald Trump political ally, retired Green Beret, and two-time failed congressional candidate, became the first senior hand in the Administration to resign in protest because, in his estimation, "we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.'' It was a stunning rebuke from inside Trump's tent and one delivered by a close ally of Tulsi Gabbard, the nation's isolationist spy chief who has been notably silent since the bombing began on Feb. 28. | Keeping with his brand, Trump dismissed Kent's defection as a distraction and an anomaly. "I always thought he was a nice guy, but I always thought he was weak on security," Trump told reporters Tuesday. "It's a good thing that he's out because he said Iran was not a threat." | Trump's allies quickly and summarily cast Kent as someone who should not be taken seriously, a man widely regarded as a failure despite having held one of the most important jobs in national security until he voluntarily quit. House Speaker Mike Johnson said Kent was out of the loop and out of touch. But it was not universal. Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, an early MAGA supporter who defected and then resigned from her seat representing Georgia, called Kent "a GREAT AMERICAN HERO." | While most Americans have never heard of Kent or even his corner of Spook World, the National Counterterrorism Center, they do see the divide unfolding among Trump's supporters over the decision to launch strikes against Tehran in a bid to help Israel topple the Islamic Republic's regime. So far, the conflict has upended the region, turned a major shipping lane into a parking lot and sent oil prices skyrocketing. It has also revealed that most U.S. allies are no longer willing to help with a war they did not sign up for. Meanwhile, Iran's regime remains in place. | | But here at home, the biggest tumult has been snowballing in Trump's base. Trump won the White House on the promises of sidestepping forever wars and avoiding international adventurism. To this point, the fight in the MAGA-verse has largely been among influencers, with the likes of Tucker Carlson and Megyn Kelly criticizing the decision to launch another war in the Middle East and others like Ben Shapiro and Mark Levin cheering on the administration. Kent is the first big break in this world from someone who actually influences U.S. government policy. | "I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran. Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation," Kent wrote in a resignation letter to Trump that he posted on social media. | But as is the case too often in the Trump era, a move that would be praised as principled ran head first into an American First ideology. Kent has a long history of aligning with conspiracy theories; he insisted that the 2020 was stolen, that U.S. officials had a hand in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, and former health chief Anthony Fauci should be tried for murder for his role in Covid. "Republicans just voted to confirm Joe Kent, a conspiracy theorist with white supremacist views, to be in charge of counterterrorism," Sen. Patty Murray, a Washington Democrat, said last year. | Critics who had long accused Kent of politicizing intelligence begrudgingly said Tuesday he was correct in this narrow case. One senior aide in the Senate called Kent "an imperfect canary in the coal mine," suggesting he would be just the first Trump-ist to say Iran was a step too far. Lawmakers, too, were keeping an eye for others who might follow Kent. "On this point, he is right: there was no credible evidence of an imminent threat from Iran that would justify rushing the United States into another war of choice in the Middle East," said Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the intelligence panel. | Added Rep. Jim Himes, the Connecticut Democrat who in on the House intelligence committee: "At least someone in this Administration is willing to stand by their principles.'' | | Kent's exit is the best illustration to date of how Trump's orbit is clearly divided about this seemingly open-ended military action. Polls show Americans deeply divided on Trump's actions in Iran. Among Democrats, 89% say the U.S. shouldn't have made the strikes, and 58% of independents agree, according to NBC News polling. Among Republicans, 15% say the same while 77% of them support the attacks. | But dig a little deeper among Republicans, and it's a different reality—one that reflects the broader intraparty debate happening. Among those who call themselves MAGA, 90% of Republicans support Trump's war. Among non-MAGA Republicans, that number slides 54%. | This year alone, Trump has captured the leader of Venezuela and his wife and taken out Iran's Supreme Leader and his top aides. Cuba seems to be next on Trump's punchlist. And the Arctic diplomats here in Washington remain nervous that Trump may return to his obsession with seizing Greenland as a U.S. outpost. It's been a dizzying moment of American go-it-alone-ness. While most of Trump's base has struck with him thus far, Kent's defection may be an early sign that a significant chunk of MAGA acolytes are losing their faith as they wonder what happened to the isolationist they voted for. | READ THE STORY » | | | | | | | |
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