Vance on Joe Kent resignation: ‘Nobody likes war’

Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday addressed the resignation of top intelligence aide Joe Kent and divides within President Trump’s base over the U.S. operation in Iran, saying “nobody likes war.”

“The president has said this, I’ve said this. Nobody likes war, and I guarantee the president of the United States is not interested in getting us in the kind of long term, quagmires that we’ve seen in years past.,” Vance said during a campaign-style event in Auburn Hills, Michigan when asked about Kent’s resignation and the intraparty divides on Iran.

“I know the president. I know the way that he thinks about America’s national security. That is not at risk with this president at all,” he added.

Vance noted that Trump has been consistent in his stance that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, though reasoning for the war has shifted wildly since its start earlier this month.

“That’s all this is about. We do not want the Iranians to have a nuclear weapon,” the vice president said.

Vance acknowledged he knows and likes Kent, and the Trump appreciates hearing different opinions.

“That said, whatever your view is, when the president of the United States makes a decision, it’s your job to help make that decision as effective and successful as possible,” the vice president said.

“The president said this yesterday, if you are on the team and you can’t help implement the decisions of his administration, he has the right to make those decisions, then it’s a good thing for you to resign,” Vance continued. “And I think that’s exactly right. It’s fine to disagree, but once the president makes a decision, it’s up to everybody who serves in his administration to make it as successful as possible. That’s how I do my job and I think that’s how everybody in the administration should do their job, too.”

Vance’s comments in Michigan were the first from the vice president on Kent’s resignation on Tuesday.

In a letter addressed to Trump that he shared, Kent said he supported “the values and the foreign policies that you campaigned on in 2016, 2020” and the last presidential election, but that he disagreed with Trump’s decision to go ahead with the Iran operation.

“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 and chart a new path for our nation, or you can allow us to slip further toward decline and chaos. You hold the cards,” Kent wrote.

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