Trump rips Joe Kent and Tucker Carlson in explosive Truth Social post, calls ex-counterterrorism chief 'sleazebag'

President Donald Trump launched a sharp attack on several conservative media figures and former allies in a Truth Social post on Thursday (April 16), escalating tensions within the right-wing political ecosystem. Among those targeted was Joe Kent, the Trump administration’s former counterterrorism chief, who resigned in March and later criticised the Iran war. “He was really a SLEAZEBAG, and some would say, on top of it all, A LEAKER!” Trump wrote. “I don’t know whether or not that was true, but next time, NO MORE MR. NICE GUY! Kent is a LOSER, just like Tucker [Carlson], Candace [Owens], Megyn [Kelly], and the rest of them are LOSERS.”

Trump had made similar remarks in a previous post, accusing critics of supporting Iran’s nuclear ambitions and questioning their judgment. “They think it is wonderful for Iran, the Number One State Sponsor of Terror, to have a Nuclear Weapon, because they have one thing in common, Low IQs.”

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In Thursday’s post, Trump also revisited his decision to appoint Kent to a senior counterterrorism role, saying it was partly motivated by personal sympathy. He said he met Kent during a dignified transfer ceremony in Delaware when the remains of Kent’s wife, killed in an ISIS attack in Syria, were returned to the United States.

“While I didn’t know him other than our brief Dover encounter, but feeling sorry for him after the two Election losses, I told my people, ‘Hire him for the White House. Give him a job, make him feel good, he lost his wife and two Elections,’” Trump wrote. “They did so and, while I rarely saw him, I certainly didn’t expect disloyalty, but that’s what I got.”

Separately, Kent responded online, warning against escalation in the Middle East and urging restraint in US policy toward Iran. “President Trump is sending more military power to the Middle East as Iran rejects our initial peace offers, setting the escalation trap,” he wrote on X on Wednesday, adding, “We must learn from our past and recognize when it is time to cut our losses and walk away. In the end, working to restore order will strengthen America far more than any military action ever could.”