‘He remarried fairly quickly’: Trump further criticizes Joe Kent in remarks to press

The fallout between Joe Kent, the former director of the National Counterterrorism Center, and President Donald Trump continues, as the president made further remarks to the press on Monday about his departure from the White House.

Trump told the media he “is not a fan of the guy” before mentioning Kent remarried “fairly quickly” after losing his first wife, Shannon Smith. Smith, who was assigned to an Army Special Operations Command, was killed in a suicide bombing in Syria in January 2019.

“His wife was killed. He remarried fairly quickly. His wife was killed and I felt badly for him. He ran for Congress, he lost. He ran for Congress again and he lost,” Trump said Monday. “I said, ‘You know, he’s a guy, nice guy, seemed like a very nice guy.’ I met him, he was pretty heartbroken, pretty, but I said, ‘You know it’s a shame, he ran for Congress twice, call him up, give him a job in the White House.’ Smart. They gave him a job in the White House, and this is what he does to me, you know? Being a nice guy doesn’t pay off too much.”

Trump then mentioned that Kent ran two “not very good” campaigns while seeking the Congressional seat in Washington’s 3rd District, losing to Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez in 2022 and 2024. Before his Congressional runs, he served in the military, seeing 11 deployments as a Green Beret, followed by work at the CIA.

“So I take this guy Joe Kent who lost twice for Congress, pretty badly and tough and was devastated, and I know that he lost his wife,” Trump continued. “So instead of letting him live out his life, I brilliantly had my people call him and offer him a job in security, essentially, in the White House. And what does he do? He goes out and he says that Iran is not a threat, to get publicity. Now he probably signed up with CNN.”

Kent was confirmed as director of the National Counterterrorism Center in July 2025 after the U.S. Senate approved his appointment in a 52-44 vote largely along party lines.

Kent resigns from National Counterterrorism Center, claims Iran posed no threat

Last week, Kent resigned as director of the National Counterterrorism Center over President Donald Trump’s Iran war, saying Iran posed “no imminent threat to our nation.”

Kent said he “cannot in good conscience” back Trump’s 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,” Kent posted on social media Tuesday.

“I had no idea his ideology was left, or right, whatever it is. I can say this, he said very strongly that Iran is not a threat,” Trump said Monday. “Iran’s been a threat for 47 years and there’s not a country in the world that doesn’t agree with me on that.”

Trump previously told reporters that he always thought Kent was “weak on security” and if someone in his administration did not believe Iran was a threat, “we don’t want those people.”

FBI investigating whether departed counterterrorism official Joe Kent leaked classified info

The FBI is investigating whether Joe Kent, who resigned his position as a top counterterrorism official this week in protest of the Iran war, improperly shared classified information, a person familiar with the matter said Wednesday.

The investigation precedes Kent’s resignation on Tuesday from his role as director of the U.S. government’s National Counterterrorism Center, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing FBI inquiry.

But it comes as the Justice Department has undertaken multiple investigations over the last year into political foes of President Donald Trump, including former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James. Prosecutors have repeatedly struggled to make charges stick amid rejections from judges or to secure indictments in the first place.

Additional details about what the investigation, which was first reported by Semafor, is examining were not immediately available.

Kent disclosed his departure from the administration in a statement on X in which he cited his concerns about the justification for military strikes in Iran and said he “cannot in good conscience” back the war against Iran.

Kent praises Trump despite his comments

Approximately one hour after Trump commented on Kent on Monday, Kent praised him as a “strong” leader who was “working to get peace with Iran.”

“President Trump is working to get peace with Iran, if he can make this happen it will be a very good thing for our nation & our allies in the Gulf,” Kent wrote in a social media post. “The Israelis will be against this, but POTUS is strong & can get them on board.”

Contributing: The Associated Press

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