Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday rebuked former counterterrorism director Joe Kent after he resigned Tuesday in protest of the Iran war, saying administration officials who disagree with President Donald Trump should step aside rather than publicly break ranks.
“Now I know Joe Kent a little bit. I like Joe Kent. You heard the president of the United States say yesterday that he likes Joe Kent too. But it’s one thing to have a disagreement of opinion,” Vance said on Wednesday as he visited a manufacturing plant in Auburn Hills, Michigan, a northern suburb of Detroit.
“But once the president makes a decision, it’s up to everybody who serves in his administration to make it as successful as possible,” Vance continued. “That’s how I do my job, and I think that’s how everybody in the administration should do their job too.”
Kent announced his resignation on social media, claiming he was morally opposed to the Iran war.
“I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran,” Kent wrote. “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.”
Vance reportedly met with Kent and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard on Monday. During the meeting, Kent presented his resignation to the vice president. Vance reportedly counseled Kent to speak with Trump and chief of staff Susie Wiles before making a final decision.
Trump told reporters on Tuesday that “it’s a good thing that he’s out because he said Iran was not a threat. Every country recognized Iran was a threat.”
He also claimed that Kent, the first high-ranking Trump administration official to resign over the war, was “very weak on security.”
During his trip to Michigan, Vance reiterated Trump’s previous comments that members of the administration who can’t implement the president’s decisions should step down.
“It’s a good thing for you to resign,” Vance. “And I think that’s exactly right.”
Vance also spoke in Michigan about the Trump administration’s record on the economy. He conceded that rising gas prices due to the fallout of the Iran war are a concern for the American public.
“Look, gas prices are up, and we know they’re up, and we know that people are hurting because of it, and we’re doing everything that we can to ensure that they stay lower,” Vance said. “I will say the president said this, and I certainly agree with it. This is a temporary blip.”
Iran’s attacks on the Strait of Hormuz have caused gas prices to surge since the war began on Feb. 28. Trump had asked for NATO allies to help secure the strait, but declared he didn’t need their help after many nations rebuffed his request.
On Wednesday, Trump waived the Jones Act, a law that requires goods shipped between U.S. ports to be carried only by American-built ships, to help lower oil prices.
“It’s not going to last forever. We’re going to take care of business,” Vance said about gas prices. “We’re going to come back home, and when that happens, you’re going to see energy prices come back down to reality.”
“We’re working on a number of things, in fact, a couple of things that I think will be announced in just the next 24 to 48 hours,” the vice president added. “I don’t want to get ahead of the president on that.”
Vance also claimed that the war was hurting Iran far more than the U.S., which has pursued an energy dominance agenda under the Trump administration.
“So as much as we’ve got, we got to focus on getting these gas prices down,” he said. “The reality is, overseas, they’re feeling it far worse than we did, because we’ve taken the steps to protect our energy economy.”
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