Trump Panics as Top Official Quits Over War
3/17/202621 mincomplete
0:00Donald Trump is panicking as one of his top officials has quit over Trump's disastrous
0:05war in Iran. Joe Kent, who serves as the director of national intelligence, the National
0:12Counterterrorism Center, he's the number two under Tulsi Gabbard.
0:17He just posted that after much reflection, he will be resigning his position as the
0:23director of National Counterterrorism Center, effective today because in good conscience, he can no longer
0:30support the ongoing war in Iran.
0:33He writes that Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear
0:38that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.
0:44He says it was an honor to serve under Donald Trump and Tulsi Gabbard.
0:48He says, may God bless America.
0:50He is a combat veteran.
0:52He is a gold star husband in the MAGA world.
0:56He is beloved in the MAGA world.
0:58And so this is sending massive shockwaves throughout MAGA right now.
1:03As one of the top MAGA people, one of Donald Trump's top officials has officially
1:09resigned over Donald Trump's disastrous war in Iran.
1:13This, of course, comes at a time when things are getting worse there as the
1:19United States is stuck in a quagmire there of Donald Trump's making.
1:23And we're now learning that one of the main aircraft carriers that is outside of
1:30Iran, the Gerald Ford, the USS Gerald Ford, they've just received a notice after basically
1:36being on duty for close to a year that they will remain in the Middle
1:43East until May. And that USS Gerald Ford, as you may recall, back on March
1:4912th, suffered a very serious fire aboard that started in the laundry room.
1:56They said it wasn't because of any foreign attacks or anything like that.
2:01But the ship's just been out there for a very long time.
2:05It has resulted in 600 sailors and crew members sleeping on the floor right now.
2:11And this USS Gerald Ford, which has now been informed that it will now be
2:16deployed at least through May.
2:17That tells you how long this war at a minimum is likely going to last.
2:21It has to go to Greece to get serviced right now as the Gerald Ford
2:26and even the Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier.
2:29They're suffering a lot of issues just from the wear and tear of the deployments
2:34that Trump is putting them through.
2:35Let me just go back for a moment and read you Joseph Kent's resignation letter,
2:40because there's more to it that I think is important to read to kind of
2:43sum up what's going on in the MAGA world.
2:46Because again, this guy, top Trump official, top MAGA guy, here's what he writes.
2:50He goes, President Trump, after much reflection, I've decided to resign from my position as
2:55director of National Counterterrorism Center effective today.
2:57I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran.
3:02Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started
3:06the war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.
3:09I support the values in foreign policy that you campaigned on in 2016, 2020, 2024,
3:15which you enacted in your first term.
3:16Until June of 2025, you understood that the wars in the Middle East were a
3:21trap that robbed America of the precious lives of our patriots and depleted the wealthy.
3:27and prosperity of our nation.
3:29In your first administration, you understood better than any modern president how to decisively apply
3:35military power without getting us drawn into never -ending wars.
3:38You demonstrated this by killing Soleimani and by defeating ISIS.
3:42By the way, I don't agree that he defeated ISIS, or I don't agree that
3:46he was good in his first term.
3:48I'm just reading you what this resignation letter states.
3:50Early in this administration, high -ranking Israeli officials and influential members of the American media
3:56deployed a misinformation campaign that wholly undermined your America First platform and sowed pro -war
4:03sentiments to encourage a war with Iran.
4:06This echo chamber was used to deceive you into believing that Iran posed an imminent
4:10threat to the United States and that should you strike now, there was a clear
4:14path to a swift victory.
4:15This was a lie and is the same tactic the Israelis used to draw us
4:20into the disastrous Iraq war that cost our nation the lives of thousands of our
4:24best men and women. We cannot make this mistake again as a veteran who deployed
4:28to combat 11 times and as a gold star husband who lost my beloved wife
4:33Shannon in a war manufactured by Israel.
4:35I cannot support sending the next generation off to fight and die in a war
4:40that serves no benefit to the American people nor justifies the cost of American lives.
4:46I pray that you will reflect upon what we are doing in Iran and who
4:49we are doing it for, the time for bold action is now.
4:52You can reverse course and chart a new path for our nation or you can
4:56allow us to slip further toward decline and chaos.
4:59You hold the cards. It was an honor to serve in your administration and to
5:03serve our great nation. Signed, Joseph Kent, Director, National Counterterrorism Center.
5:10Now, one of the things we're hearing from a lot of America's allies, former allies
5:14and generals and admirals and other top military officials in the United States is they
5:20hold the cards now, referring to Iran.
5:23And Trump's allies fear Iran has been slipping beyond the president's control.
5:29Trump's supporters who backed his promise to avoid new Middle East wars worry Iran's attacks
5:34on shipping are a push toward U .S.
5:37escalation and maybe even boots on the ground political rights.
5:41To a large extent, they hold the cards now, said one person close to the
5:46White House. They decide how long we're involved and they decide if we put boots
5:50on the ground. Meanwhile, in Europe, the vice president of the European Union Commission, their
5:57foreign minister, Kaha Kailas, says, we just really don't understand what the United States is
6:04doing. Like, we, at a logical level, don't understand the moves it's making.
6:10And then she also said, it's pretty clear now when you deal with the United
6:14States, you just have to take unpredictability of the U .S.
6:19into account. The U .S.
6:20is no longer a rational actor and we just have to proceed as such.
6:25Meanwhile, you had the UAE airspace temporarily closed all of it for a significant period
6:33of time. You had a major hotel in Baghdad in Iraq that was hit by
6:39these Iranian drones. You had the Iranian -backed militia groups in Iraq with those FPVs,
6:46those first -person viewed drones, flying it around the green zone and posting videos showing
6:52that they could strike any target at will.
6:55You had additional strikes in northern Israel, central Israel in Bahrain, and then you have
7:03the United States and Israel striking Iran.
7:06hard. Israel claimed that it was able to kill Iran's security chief, Ali Larajani, and
7:14the Basij force commander, Gholmerza Soleimani.
7:19We believe that that actually is something that happened.
7:22I mean, just because it's claimed doesn't mean it always happened, but we believe that
7:26that actually did in fact take place.
7:29Now, lots of people though who understand the inner workings of Iran though, feel like
7:34killing Ali Larajani makes doing any type of negotiated resolution with Iran more difficult.
7:42While Ali Larajani was certainly one of the top figures in Iran, that's kind of
7:47day -to -day running the Islamic Republic.
7:50He was also somebody viewed as having the institutional knowledge to work with the more
7:57extreme elements. I mean, Larajani is an extreme guy, but even the more extreme elements
8:02within the Islamic Republic military, the Revolutionary Guard to try to bring about resolution.
8:09So lots of people feel like all you're going to do by taking out Larajani
8:13is show what an existential threat this war is and for Iran to just keep
8:17on going. We'll keep you posted, but that's what a lot of the individuals who
8:22really study the day -to -day of Iran are saying that this actually makes any
8:27resolution with Iran more difficult by taking out Larajani.
8:31And perhaps that's what Israel wanted in doing that to try to continue this thing.
8:36But, you know, we will keep you posted there.
8:38Should be noted that Iran's parliament speaker, Mohamed Bagar Galabaf, he's just recently commented saying
8:46that the security landscape in the Strait of Hormuz has fundamentally changed.
8:51He's accusing the U .S.
8:52of acting under Israeli influence, saying, I don't know what happened in the Epstein affair
8:57or in those files or what documents exist on Americans that put them on such
9:01a leash in Netanyahu's hands and lead them to act this way.
9:05Galabaf also said Trump is lying several times a day out of desperation, claiming the
9:11U .S. failed to achieve quick victory and that all of the U .S.
9:14bases have been targeted by us.
9:16He added that Iran had long -worn neighboring states that the U .S.
9:21military presence does not bring security, saying recent events have proven that point.
9:25And Galabaf said that the face and order of the Middle East are changing, adding
9:30that regional countries will shape their own security rather than the United States.
9:34So those are words of someone who doesn't seem to be interested in a resolution
9:39anytime soon. But again, we will continue to follow this day by day.
9:44Meanwhile, back in Washington, D .C., you have Kevin Hassett, Donald Trump's national economic advisor,
9:51says, you know, look, this war is not hurting the American economy.
9:54It's just hurting consumers. And consumers are the least thing we care about right now.
10:01Now, if you're like, Ben, you're telling me Trump's top economic guy just went on
10:06TV and said the least of our concerns right now is the American consumer.
10:12Yeah, I'll show you what he said.
10:14Here, play this clip. But the fact is that the U .S.
10:17economy is fundamentally sound and that if it were to be extended, it wouldn't really
10:22disrupt the U .S. economy very much at all.
10:24It would hurt consumers. And we'd have to think about, you know, if that continued,
10:29what we would have to do about that.
10:31But that's like really the last of our concerns right now, because we're very confident
10:34that this thing is going ahead of schedule.
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11:57Now we're also hearing from MAGA Mike Johnson, the Republican Speaker of the House, and
12:02he is now saying, we don't know why Kent, that top official, quit.
12:08Where's he getting his information from?
12:09We all know this is ahead of schedule and things are growing great.
12:13Watch MAGA Mike Johnson panic right here.
12:16Play this clip. I'm on the Gang of Eight.
12:18I got all the briefings.
12:19We all understood there was clearly an imminent threat that Iran was very close to
12:25the enrichment of nuclear capability, and they were building missiles missiles at a pace that
12:29no one in the region could keep up with.
12:31They were far outpacing our allies and friends and us in our defense capability because
12:38we had personnel installations, members of the armed services, and civilians in the region.
12:44Iran was building up ballistic missiles at such a rapid pace, and we knew that
12:48their plan was to fire them upon Americans.
12:51The Commander -in -Chief and his administration had a very difficult decision to make.
12:56I don't know where Joe Kent is getting his information, but he wasn't in those
12:59briefings, clearly, because the Secretary of State, the Secretary of War, and everyone, the Joint
13:05Chiefs of Staff, General Kaine, they had exquisite intelligence that we understood that this was
13:10a serious moment for us.
13:12Had the president waited, I am personally convinced that we would have mass casualties of
13:16Americans, service members and others, and our installations would have been dramatically damaged.
13:23And so we had to, the president felt that he had to strike first to
13:27prevent those mass casualties. That's the summary.
13:30I can't tell you the classified part, but that's the summary that's made public, and
13:33it's accurate. Yeah, moderate. Or let's take a look at some of these other Trump
13:37surrogates who are going on the news networks this morning.
13:41MAGA Republican Pete Sessions says that if we put 2 ,500 to 5 ,000 boots
13:48on the ground in the Karg Island, in the Strait of Hormuz, in the northern
13:52Persian Gulf, that's not boots on the ground.
13:55That's like virtual boots on the ground.
13:57So putting soldiers in Iran is not putting soldiers in Iran.
14:02That's what they're trying to sell us.
14:03Here, play this clip. The president is moving about 2 ,500 Marines to the region.
14:09Are you okay with putting those two troops on the ground?
14:14I actually spoke to some media last night, and I indicated that I believe that
14:22what the... These 2 ,500 Marines of the Marine Expeditionary Force would be to probably
14:28secure the island. The island is not, in my opinion, boots on the ground in
14:36combat circumstances. How so? It is a territory.
14:39It is Iran. Well, I'm not going to argue that point.
14:45As a matter of fact, you're right.
14:46But what I would say is the president has chosen not to obliterate the ability
14:53to get oil. And I think he wants to go secure that to make sure
14:58the Iranians don't do themselves in.
15:01So I think it's probably wisdom.
15:03Is that boots on the ground?
15:05No, not like inside Iran where they're in the cities where we go through circumstances
15:11that we've had in the past of large areas of population.
15:16Combatants against us. And it is a mess.
15:20I am against the what I call the mess, moving people, Marines, snipers into population
15:27areas. But then back to Kevin Hassett for a moment.
15:30He tries to sell us that Donald Trump canceling the meeting with Xi Jinping is
15:34a good thing because they're such good buddies.
15:37And they're looking forward to meeting because all of this is going to be great
15:40for Xi Jinping in the long run.
15:43And that Donald Trump is really helping Xi Jinping right now by this war, even
15:48though we know that China is actually helping Iran right now.
15:52Let's play this clip right here.
15:54And so I think that in this, this is one case where the objectives of
15:57both countries are aligned, that we want, you know, a stable world oil market.
16:03And I think that President Trump or President Xi are good friends and that, you
16:08know, when this when this war is over, which will be sometime soon, I'm sure
16:11they'll get together and have a lot to talk about.
16:13And hopefully the Chinese will express some gratitude for what President Trump has done.
16:18More from Kevin Hassett right here explaining that even though we're not getting our fertilizer
16:25from Qatar anymore as a result of this war, who really cares?
16:29We we we've basically moved on.
16:31I'm sure Qatar is very happy about that.
16:33Let's play this clip right here.
16:35You mentioned that there are so many other things that come through the Strait of
16:38Hormuz that we do have concerns about.
16:40One would be fertilizer, another would be helium, which is needed for the manufacturing of
16:46semiconductor chips. You said you have a plan.
16:48What is that plan to make sure that we are getting fertilizer to the proper
16:52places that it's needed? Because you can't get the fertilizer there late if you need
16:56to plant the crops. Right.
16:58Well, well, the thing about fertilizer is that I know there are some people who
17:04live in fertilizer land on CNBC, but probably most people don't know about how fertilizer
17:09works in the U .S., but it's almost planting season and there's a lot of
17:12fertilizer that usually goes down during planting season, including a fertilizer that's based on ammonia
17:19and urea and nitrogen. And then there's potash that goes in as well, though the
17:28potash usually comes in the fall.
17:29And a lot of this stuff is made from liquid natural gas.
17:34And there's a facility in Qatar that produces so much fertilizer that it that it
17:40supplies maybe about 20 percent of the fertilizer in the U .S.
17:44And so what we've been doing to it really is an insurance policy against disruption
17:49is we've been finding other sources and doing so really quite successfully.
17:54We've put licenses, established licenses for Venezuela to produce more fertilizer.
18:01We've had discussions with Baracko, which has the largest reserve of potash anywhere on earth.
18:09And so we've been all over the fertilizer problem.
18:12And then more efforts by Donald Trump and his despicable regime right here in order
18:18to further harm our economy.
18:21Washington Post reports that about 200 ,000 immigrant truckers will begin to lose their commercial
18:26driver's license under a Trump administration rule that takes effect today, straining the industry responsible
18:33for moving goods across the U .S.
18:35as energy costs surge amid the war in Iran.
18:38As Quinn Yirgain explains, I really cannot fathom being so racist and power hungry that
18:46someone would rather rule a legally segregated economic backwater as a dictator than participate in
18:53a free contest for political power in a wealthy, diverse country.
18:57Yet, that's the fascist plan.
18:59And talking about that fascist plan right here, U .S.
19:03is considering withholding more HIV aid.
19:06They've already withheld lots of HIV aid by dismantling USAID.
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19:17mineral access. A draft State Department memo outlines ways that the Trump regime may ratchet
19:23up pressure on the African country by ending health support on a massive scale.
19:29That's what you have going on this morning.
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