The former director of the National Counterterrorism Center, Joe Kent, called out the conservative “media echo chamber” he claimed helped convince President Donald Trump to go to war with Iran, during a heated confrontation with a right-wing radio host.
“Over the course of the last year, we watched the Israelis through their official engagements with members of our government and the media echo chamber, which I believe you are a part of, move President Trump’s red line from saying that Iran can’t have a nuclear weapon to saying Iran can’t have any enrichment,” Kent told conservative radio host Mark Levin.
Kent, a conspiracy theorist with long-standing ties to far-right extremist groups, abruptly resigned from his position last week in protest of Trump’s war with Iran.
He stated in his resignation letter that 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 doubled down on his stance in a confrontation with Levin, stating, “It was evident that the Israelis still wanted regime change in Iran and they were going to continue to push” after the U.S struck Iranian nuclear facilities in June of last year.
At one point in the interview, Kent called out “the media echo chamber that wanted a regime change in Iran,” which he said included Levin’s show.
“What about the media echo chamber, your buddies who didn’t want regime change in Iran?” Levin fired back. “There’s a lot of echo chambers out there.“
Kent, however, said it appeared as if Levin’s side of the “media echo chamber was much more successful.”
“I never lobbied the president. Hey, pay attention to me. I never lobby the president,” Levin snapped back. “You guys keep putting that crap out there. I met with the president once, at his request, and I said to the president — ready for this, Joe — I said, ‘They’re saying out there that I’m lobbying you.’ You know what he did? He laughed.”
The host added that Trump said he watched the show on weekends.
“You can lobby him by using the power of your show,” Kent noted.
“Come on, brother, you’re sounding almost ridiculous now,” Levin said.
