The Swamp's Strangest Choir Just Found a New Target: Joe Kent
Bill Kristol, Marc Thiessen, Mark Levin, and Laura Loomer all piled on a decorated veteran within hours. The pattern is the point.
The Swamp's Strangest Choir Just Found a New Target: Joe Kent
Joe Kent resigned as director of the National Counterterrorism Center over the Iran war, and within what felt like five minutes, the usual suspects came sprinting to the microphones like somebody had rung the dinner bell.
Not to debate the merits of his decision. Not to seriously weigh whether a decorated combat veteran might have a principled objection. No, that would require an adult conversation.
Instead, the establishment Right's favorite hall monitors immediately launched the same familiar routine: smear, accuse, insinuate, repeat.
According to the Daily Caller, figures including Bill Kristol, Marc Thiessen, Mark Levin, Erick Erickson, and Laura Loomer all took turns piling on Kent after he announced, "I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran." Kent, a retired Green Beret with 11 combat deployments and six Bronze Stars, did not exactly leave a record of hiding from hard things. But apparently in Washington, serving your country is less impressive than serving takes on cable.
Kent Made His Choice. The Pile-On Is the Real Story.
Let's be clear. Kent made his decision. You can agree with it or disagree with it. Reasonable conservatives can do both.
President Trump, who has broad support from the movement and every right to expect loyalty from his team, made clear he disagreed with Kent's assessment. That is a real disagreement inside a coalition, not some cosmic betrayal drama cooked up for social media clicks.
But the more revealing part of this story is what happened next.
Suddenly, Everyone Sang From the Same Hymnal
Bill Kristol framed Kent's resignation as naked ambition
Marc Thiessen accused Kent of trafficking in "antisemitic tropes"
Mark Levin floated the idea that Kent may have been pushed out or leaking
Erick Erickson called him a "performative" provocateur and even dragged Kent's wife into the fight
Laura Loomer demanded firings and cast Kent as a saboteur
The instant pattern was impossible to miss. Men and women who spent years positioning themselves as the serious foreign policy adults all reacted to a veteran's resignation the same way. They did not answer his argument first. They attacked his motives first. That tells you something.
The Strange Bedfellows Alliance
The same crowd that never misses a chance to sneer at populists suddenly found unity with the most hawkish voices in the room. Never Trumpers and Iran hawks locked arms like old choir buddies who just rediscovered harmony.
For years, grassroots conservatives have been told the establishment is divided, nuanced, thoughtful. Then a man with actual war credentials says he cannot support this conflict, and the whole machine snaps into formation.
Now, you may reject Kent's conclusions. Fine. But if you are not even willing to hear out a man who served 11 combat tours before you smear him as a grifter, a bigot, or a leaker, maybe your problem is not his resume. Maybe it is that he broke ranks.
The Grassroots Should Notice Who Showed Up
When Bill Kristol and Mark Levin sound like they are reading from adjacent cue cards, your instincts should kick in. When dissent from a decorated veteran is treated as moral contamination instead of a serious disagreement, you are not watching confidence. You are watching gatekeeping.
President Trump remains the leader of the movement, and supporters of his administration can still recognize when establishment voices are exploiting a resignation to settle old scores. Both things can be true at once.
Joe Kent made his choice. The White House made its position clear. Fine. But the political class's reaction exposed something uglier and more revealing: the same old foreign policy crowd and the same old anti-populist crowd still know exactly when to join hands. They just need a target. This week, that target was a veteran who refused to play along.
Further Reading
• Daily Caller: Never Trumpers And Iran Hawks Unite To Smear Joe Kent
• RNZ: Trump-Appointed Intelligence Official Resigns Over Iran War