This story is part of TPM Cafe, TPM’s home for opinion and news analysis.
At the Catholic Prayer For America Gala in Washington Thursday night, the far-right group Catholics for Catholics (CFC) celebrated Joe Kent, the recently-departed Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, who quit over opposition to the war in Iran. Kent has a long history of proximity to white supremacists and neo-Nazis, and his resignation letter paired his criticism of Trump’s war with antisemitic tropes. Although CFC had announced Kent would be interviewed on stage by Candace Owens, the far-right podcaster and influencer, his actual five-minute appearance at the black-tie affair — which C-Span interrupted its regular programming to broadcast — turned out to be rather anodyne. Kent briefly repeated his anti-Iran War views. When pressed by CFC president John Yep, Kent added a religious flourish: “Having faith, I was able to hear God’s voice. I was able to hear that I was exactly where I was supposed to be and it was my time to actually take action, which made taking the action incredibly easy actually and actually made me feel very liberated and like I’m in the right spot.”
