Karoline Leavitt blasts Joe Kent’s 'laughable' claim Trump started Iran war due to Israel pressure

WASHINGTON, D.C.: Karoline Leavitt slammed Joe Kent after he resigned from his job as National Counterterrorism Center director while calling out President Donald Trump over the Iran war. The White House press secretary called his resignation letter “riddled with lies” and claimed that his allegations against Trump were “insulting and laughable.”

The 28-year-old spoke with reporters outside the White House on Wednesday, March 18, 2026, where she said that Kent was given the opportunity to serve in Trump’s administration because of his “commendable military record and experience.”

Leavitt claims Trump makes decision 'based on what’s in the best interest of this country'

But she then tore into Kent’s accusations against the Republican leader that he’s “being controlled by a foreign country.” 

“That’s both insulting and laughable all at the same time. The president is the leader of the most powerful country military in the world. Nobody tells him what to do. He makes decisions based on what’s in the best interest of this country,” Leavitt asserted.

Leavitt called Iran war 'a good decision'

When the political spokesperson was pressed further on why Kent was chosen for the job in the first place despite Trump thinking he was "weak," she replied that the US leader “thought he was a good guy with good military experience, and unfortunately he proved he was not up for the job.”

“We don’t want somebody leading the counterterrorism task force who cannot agree that the number one state sponsor of terror in this world did not pose a threat to the United States,” she stated.

Leavitt also asserted that the Iran war was launched only after the intelligence confirmed Tehran “was building ballistic missiles at a rapid rate to build a shield of immunity so they could build a nuclear bomb.”

She justified the ongoing war, claiming it a “good decision, not just for the United States, but for the rest of the world. It should be commended, it should not be degraded in the form of a resignation letter that’s riddled with lies.”

Joe Kent alleged Iran war began because of 'misinformation campaign' spread by high-ranking Israeli officials

Leavitt’s comment came after Kent, in his resignation letter addressed to the US commander-in-chief, said, “I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran.” 

“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,” the 45-year-old politician wrote. He also noted that Trump, in his first administration, knew very well “how to decisively apply military power without getting us drawn into never-ending wars.”

Further in the letter, Kent alleged that early into Trump’s current term things changed as “high-ranking Israeli officials and influential members of the American media deployed a misinformation campaign that sowed pro-war sentiments to encourage a war with Iran.”

“I pray that you will reflect upon what we are doing in Iran, and who we are doing it for. The time for bold action is now. You can reverse course,” Kent concluded in his letter.