All Of A Sudden, We Get A Pretty Boy In A Bad Toupee

We're in a strange slow-news period: media, both legacy and alt, had to work for a couple of weeks following the Iran attacks, but around the time the gayattolah story broke, they all left for spring break, and we're back in a silly season. Hormuz? Blip. More dead mullahs? Blip. Cuba? Blip. Instead, we get a big story all gift wrapped with a cute bow on it featuring a jut-jawed special forces type straight from central casting but with retro 70s sideburns and an incongruous wavy hairpiece, Joe Kent:

Donald Trump's top counterterrorism official has resigned over the war in Iran, urging the president to "reverse course".

In a letter posted on X, National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent said that Iran posed "no imminent threat" to the US and claimed the administration "started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby".

. . . Kent, 45, is a US special forces and CIA veteran whose wife, navy cryptologic technician Shannon Kent, was killed in a suicide bombing in Syria in 2019.

The father-of-two deployed 11 times overseas with the US military, including with the US Army's special forces in Iraq.

He later became a paramilitary officer at the CIA, before leaving government service following his wife's death.

Kent cited his military service and his wife's death in his letter, saying that he "cannot support sending the next generation off to fight and die in a war that serves no benefit to the American people nor justifies the cost of American lives".

Before yesterday, I'd never heard of the guy, but I saw he'd run twice for a Washington House seat and lost. Looking at his photos, I surmised that he lost because everyone saw he was a big phony. Apparently it was slightly more complicated than that, according to Commentary:

In 2022 he saw an opportunity when Washington state’s six-term Republican representative, Jaime Herrera Beutler, voted to impeach Donald Trump. Kent ousted Beutler in the primary and then lost the seat to the Democrats. His general election loss to Marie Gluesenkamp Perez came after revelations that he “courted prominent white nationalists and posed recently for a photograph with a media personality who has previously described Adolf Hitler as a ‘complicated historical figure’ who ‘many people misunderstand.’”

Kent took a second shot at Perez two years later and lost again. His loyalty to Trump at the expense of the Republican Party was rewarded with a federal job close to Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. While Gabbard has been able to temper her isolationist leanings, Kent apparently had had enough.

His resignation letter is a remarkable document, perfect for the right-wing’s podcast-bro laziness and Jews-on-the-brain paranoia.

The administration's reaction is in line with that assessment: somehow he was given the sort of patronage job that's given to losers in the last election, but it sounds like it was also what the Japanese call a "window seat" -- no real duties.

Senior admin official says Joe Kent was “a known leaker” - and was cut out of POTUS intelligence briefings months ago. He has not been part of any Iran planning discussions or briefings at all.

Official says also the White House told DNI Gabbard Kent should be fired for…

— Jacqui Heinrich (@JacquiHeinrich) March 17, 2026

The Commentary link continues,

It’s as if somebody wrote a resignation letter twenty years ago and then put it on ice for just the right moment.

. . . Kent is applying for membership in the microphone muftis, the conservative podcasters obsessed with Israel.

In other news,

Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson will interview Joe Kent, the former director of the National Counterterrorism Center, on Wednesday evening.

“Joe Kent, live on TCN at 6:00 pm EST,” Carlson wrote on X.

So it's starting to sound like this wasn't arranged by legacy media, it was set up by Tucker Carlson. I asked my AI oracle, "Do Joe Kent and Tucker Carlson have the same toupee dealer?" It replied,

There is no public evidence or credible reporting to suggest that Joe Kent and Tucker Carlson share a "toupee dealer" or that either man wears a toupee.

While they are close friends and political allies, their connection is based on shared ideological views rather than hair care.

Are you kidding me? I asked a follow-up: "What are typical tells that a man is wearing a hairpiece?" It gave me several links, including this:

A hair density that does not match your own on the back and sides or a density that is not age-appropriate can be one of the biggest giveaways that you’re wearing a hair system. It’s important not to get too ‘greedy’ when it comes to your hair system. The chance to have hair again can encourage men to choose a density that is too heavy or thick to pass as their own hair. Generally speaking, the younger you are, the denser your hair will be.

Kent is 45, Carlson is 56. Both are trying to look like they have the hair of 22-year-old hipsters. The link continues,

You can’t just position your hair system anywhere on your head. Position it too low or too high and it will just look off. It should be positioned exactly where your own natural hairline starts.

. . . To find your hairline take four fingers and place the bottom finger at the bottom of your eyebrows. Your hairline will begin at the top of the top finger.

So I asked another follow-up: "Where can I get a hair system that makes me look like Tucker Carlson?" It quit shilly-shallying and told me the truth:

To achieve a look similar to the thick, voluminous hairstyle of Tucker Carlson, you can purchase high-density hair systems from specialized retailers like Lordhair, New Times Hair, or LaVivid. His signature style is characterized by a stable side part and a medium-to-high hair density that maintains its color and volume without graying.

$279 and up. But it seems like MAGA isn't buying anything Tucker has to offer, Joe Kent, phony hair, or politics:

Polling throughout the nearly three-week U.S.-Israeli military operation against Iran has consistently shown near-unanimous backing for President Donald Trump’s decision to launch Operation Epic Fury among the MAGA base and overwhelming support among Republicans, while a new Rasmussen Reports survey released Monday finds that a majority of likely voters overall say the operation has been succeeding.

The Rasmussen poll found that 61 percent of likely voters say the military operation against Iran has been successful so far, including 35 percent who describe it as “very successful.”

Also,

🚨 BREAKING: CNN was just FORCED to report that nearly 90% of the MAGA base SUPPORTS President Trump's military campaign against Iran

"MAGA GOP...look at this! Nearly 9 in 10, 89% APPROVE!"

"Just 9% disapprove of it. This is TREMENDOUSLY popular among the Republican base." 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/k03H5oKoSD

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) March 17, 2026

If you want to see an example of a good toupee, check out William Shatner:

He has always denied that he wore a wig, but almost all William Shatner pictures have one, and the story is that he has been spotted in hair replacement centers in Los Angeles. In fact, one particularly persistent rumor suggests he paid approximately $25,000 for a high-quality William Shatner hair system. Indeed, his hair has become such a cultural phenomenon that dedicated blogs discuss its history and significance, with one of his Star Trek hairpieces now being auctioned starting at $2,801.

One of the problems both Carlson and Kent have is they're too cheap to buy convincing toupees, and that bleeds through to the rest of their message.