Donald Trump has said he appointed a supporter for a top national security position because his wife died.
Joe Kent headed the National Counterterrorism Centre until his resignation last month in protest of the Iran war.
He has since become a vocal critic of Trump's foreign policy agenda.
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This morning Trump posted a lengthy message on Truth Social decrying Kent as "dumb".
He recounted meeting Kent at Dover Air Force Base when the body of his wife was being returned to the United States in 2019.
Shannon Mary Kent had been killed by a suicide bomber in Syria when she was serving as a Navy cryptologic technician.
"Her casket was being brought to Dover, along with the rest, although he married again, quite quickly, in my opinion," Trump wrote on Truth Social.
He pointed out that in the years afterwards, Joe Kent had run for Congress twice and lost.
"While I didn't know him other than our brief Dover encounter, but feeling sorry for him after the two Election losses, I told my people, 'Hire him for the White House. Give him a job, make him feel good, he lost his wife and two Elections,'" Trump said.
"They did so and, while I rarely saw him, I certainly didn't expect disloyalty, but that's what I got."
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Trump described Kent as a sleazebag and a leaker.
He finished his message by writing about the low IQs of conservative commentators Megyn Kelly, Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens.
Kent, a former Army Ranger who served eleven combat tours during the war on terror, was a controversial pick over his far-right political positions.
But he has broken away from Trump sharply.
"President Trump is sending more military power to the Middle East as Iran rejects our initial peace offers—setting the escalation trap," Kent wrote on X yesterday.
"If we try to impose a maximalist outcome on Iran (zero enrichment, etc.) this war will undoubtedly escalate—costing American lives, billions more dollars, and ultimately eroding our global standing.
"We must learn from our past and recognise when it is time to cut our losses and walk away.
"In the end, working to restore order will strengthen America far more than any military action ever could."
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Kent had served in the Trump administration as the head of the National Counterterrorism Centre, a government group tasked with merging intelligence from multiple agencies to stop terrorism attacks.
He resigned two weeks after the war with Iran began.
"I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran," he said in his resignation letter.
"Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation.
"It is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby."
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