Joe Kent, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, announced his resignation on Tuesday, citing his concerns about the justification for military strikes in Iran and saying he “cannot in good conscience” back the Trump administration’s war.Here's a bit more on those connections to right-wing extremists:
“Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby,” Kent said in a statement posted on social media, making claims President Donald Trump has denied.
Kent, a former political candidate with connections to right-wing extremists, was confirmed to his post last July on a 52-44 vote.
Iran war was a bad idea from start. But Joe Kent is not the right messenger on this. See his alleged associations with Nick Fuentes and live streamer who said Hitler was “a complicated historical figure which many people misunderstand” @splcenter.org @westernstatescenter.org 2025 letter:
— Ryan Goodman (@rgoodlaw.bsky.social) March 17, 2026 at 10:25 AM
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Some of the war-related feuding on the right is laughable. Here's an exchange between Megyn Kelly (against the war) and Mark Levin (pro-war):
Busy Sunday morning for Megyn Kelly. She wakes up and has “micrope*is” on her mind. Suffice to say, if it talks like a harlot, and posts like a harlot, it’s … well, you know the rest.
— Mark R. Levin (@marklevinshow) March 15, 2026
Shalom! https://t.co/3jRmQS0zKp
President Trump and his Fox News Mini-Me, Sean Hannity, are siding with Levin, but Marjorie Taylor Greene, Candace Owens, Tucker Carlson, and Steve Bannon are criticizing the war.
So far, the GOP Establishment is holding the line, defending the war and declaring itself shocked, shocked at the increasing groyperization of GOP youth. We can read this as the work of the Republican Party in Ron DeSantis's Florida:
The University of Florida’s College Republicans chapter was disbanded after a finding that some of its members had violated a statewide organization’s rules, including making an antisemitic gesture.This isn't good guys vs. bad guys -- it's bad guys vs. worse guys. As we've learned from recent stories about young-Republican chat groups in Florida and New York, the new GOP bigots openly describe Jews as categorically evil. The GOP Establishment talks about quite a few groups that way -- Muslims, trans people, non-Republican Blacks -- but not Jews. It's a rift.
A photo reportedly depicting two students giving a Nazi salute had been shared on social media.
The university said over the weekend that the Florida Federation of College Republicans had disbanded the chapter and asked school officials to deactivate it as a registered student organization while it seeks new leadership for the group.
I think the Establishment will retain control of the party for a while. Younger Baby Boomers and GenXers in the party will still hold sway for a few more election cycles. But I think the GOP might be on the verge of developing its own version of the "purity left" -- the young progressives who invariably find a reason not to vote Democratic (Gaza in 2024, forever wars in 2016, etc.).
Young right-wingers really might stay home in future elections if Republicans seem too fond of war, and if they seem too fond of Israel (a reasonable objection) or Jews (a not-reasonable objection). Will these voters abstain, or vote third party, or even vote Democratic, if a strong supporter of Israel -- or even a candidate who seems too comfortable with Jews -- wins the 2028 Republican nomination? They might. We might have young people at both ends of the political spectrum demanding that a major-party candidate earn their vote even though these voters claim to hate everything the other party stands for. That wouldn't be a complete party crack-up, but it could still be very damaging to the GOP. The difference is that in the GOP, hate would be the principal reason.
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