Joe Kent Hits the Forking Road

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Joe Kent and the Forking Road

This week, Joe Kent resigned from his role in the National Counterterrorism Center, a position he had been appointed to with both support and skepticism inside the GOP.

This one feels worth noting. Mostly because it seems like the tribalism and infighting among the “MAGA influencer class” has now made its way into the administration itself.

Let’s stick to what we know.

Kent, a former Green Beret and congressional candidate from Washington state, has been a recognizable figure in the “America First” wing of the conservative movement. His positions have aligned more closely with voices like Tucker Carlson and, at times, Candace Owens—skeptical of foreign intervention, wary of intelligence community overreach, and openly critical of what they view as entrenched globalist priorities.

And now, not-so-subtle finger pointing toward Jerusalem as Trump’s hometown.

This doesn’t feel like an isolated personnel change. It feels like another symptom—a highly visible one—of a growing malaise within the conservative movement itself.

America Only?

On one side, you have what we might call the New America First, which at times feels more like America Only. This camp is less interested in traditional alliances, more skeptical of foreign entanglements, and deeply distrustful of institutions—especially intelligence and defense agencies that, in their view, have operated with too little accountability for too long.

As a commoner in middle America, I don’t disagree with many of those points.

On the other side, you have a more O.G. America First—one that still emphasizes strong alliances (particularly with Israel), a proactive stance against global threats, and a belief that American leadership abroad is not optional, but necessary.

Voices like Ben Shapiro have been clear in defending that posture, especially in recent months as debates over Israel, Ukraine, and broader foreign policy priorities have intensified.

As a commoner in middle America, I don’t disagree with many of those points. Again.

And I had hoped that under the Big New Tent of the GOP, we could all get along.

That seems increasingly unlikely.

Two Roads Diverged in a…Middle Eastern Desert

And sorry—I could not travel both.

But these aren’t just policy disagreements. They’re worldview disagreements.

One side sees a nation that has overextended its bankrupt self—militarily, economically, and morally—and believes retreat and fortify is both wise and necessary.

The other sees a world that becomes more dangerous when America steps back—and believes strength, projected clearly and consistently, is the best deterrent.

So where does Joe Kent fit into this?

And what does his resignation signal?

I can’t pretend to know the inside baseball on this—and it would be irresponsible to pretend otherwise.

But I can observe this:

Sometimes friction within the “Big Tent” produces reform.

Sometimes it produces greatness. And sometimes it just produces a circus.

And for conservatives watching from the outside—or voters trying to make sense of where the movement is headed—this raises a bigger question:

Will the Coalition Hold?

Because healthy organizations can absorb internal debate. In fact, they often need and are better for it.

But when disagreements move beyond think pieces and pouty podcast sniping—and start showing up in staffing decisions, resignations, and quiet reshuffling below deck—that’s when you know the argument isn’t theoretical anymore.

It’s directional.

We are not just debating ideas.

We are choosing a road, a way forward.

And right now, it looks like we’re standing at a fork—embittered over trees. Missing entirely the forest ablaze.

I don’t know who is more noble or more near-sighted here.

I just know this:

We do not have the luxury of splintering.

The stakes ARE NOT small.

We do not have the margin to burn political capital fighting each other while the opposition consolidates power, message, and machine. Around FORKING radicals.

And we certainly don’t have the clarity, apparently, to recognize that both sides of this internal fight are reacting to real concerns—just from different vantage points.

But a movement that cannot distinguish between a course correction and a civil war will inevitably extinguish the remaining light from the city on a hill.

It will stall. It will flame-out. It will lose.

So yes—Joe Kent’s resignation matters.

Not because of one man or one role.

But because it seems to be a flare to warn us.

A sign at the fork in the road.

Pick a path, Boys.

And walk it together.

In our still Left-leaning culture and media bubble, you’re already “danged if you and danged if you don’t.” You cannot please or appease them enough to win support.

Might as well choose the best “dang” way and own it with conviction and clarity. Which strangely, it seems Joe Kent did.

Fork it.