“The Israelis drove the decision to take this action,” Kent said in Wednesday's interview.
But before long, the conversation moved in a different direction as Kent nodded to conspiracy theories that pro-Israel forces were behind the assassination of conservative activist CHarlie Kirk.
“I’m saying there are unanswered questions,” Kent said.
The conversation encapsulated two schisms within the Republican Party.
There’s a foreign policy debate over the wisdom of Trump’s war with Iran and the future of the United States' longstanding alliance with Israel.
But there also are fears that the focus on Israel is the leading edge of an antisemitic fringe that has gained ground by portraying Jews as shadowy manipulators, echoing some of history's most hateful tropes.
Tucker Carlson is playing a central role
At the center of both issues is Carlson, a former Fox News host who remains influential among conservatives. He was previously denounced for hosting Nick Fuentes, a white nationalist and antisemite, on his podcast last year. During the interview, Fuentes complained about “organized Jewry in America.”
On Wednesday, Carlson was sharply critical about Israel, saying "its lobbying in the United States pressured the president.”
Matt Brooks, president of the Republican Jewish Coaltion, described Kent's appearance on Carlson's podcast as “part of an ongoing problem.”
He noted that his group opposed Kent's nomination as director of the National Counterterrorism Center because of ties to right-wing extremism. Trump ignored those concerns even though, as he said after Kent's resignation, “I always thought he was weak on security” and “I didn’t know him well.”
Kent's resignation letter trafficked in antisemitic conspiracy theories while raising concerns about the war with Iran.
He blamed “high-ranking Israeli officials and influential members of the American media” for encouraging conflict. Indeed, Israeli leaders including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu encouraged Trump to join forces in an attack on Iran.
But Kent also went further, saying it's “the same tactic the Israelis used to draw us into the disastrous Iraq war.” He also said his wife, a Navy cryptologist who was killed by a suicide bomber in Syria, died “in a war manufactured by Israel.”
