TL/DR –
President Donald Trump defended his national security adviser, Mike Waltz, following an accidental addition of The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, to a private chat on the messaging app, Signal, where military plans were being discussed. The incident prompted demands for answers from Democratic lawmakers, and the White House defended the chat, stating no classified material was sent and war plans were not discussed. Goldberg, who received a request to join the chat from a user identified as Waltz, left the chat after confirming its authenticity when the discussed military actions in Yemen took place.
Trump Supports Advisor Following Unintentional Inclusion of Journalist in Confidential Chat
President Donald Trump stood by national security adviser, Mike Waltz, after The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief was mistakenly added to a private Signal chat discussing military intentions. Trump publicly endorsed Waltz, stating “Michael Waltz has learned a lesson, and he’s a good man,” during a phone interview with NBC News.
The incident, reported by The Atlantic, detailed how journalist Jeffrey Goldberg was added to the Signal chat where plans for military action in Yemen were being discussed by Waltz’s team.
Trump played down the incident, stating that Goldberg’s involvement in the chat had “no impact” on the military operation. Trump further expressed his continued confidence in his team, dismissing the chat debacle as a minor glitch.
The occurrence sparked outrage in Washington, with Democratic lawmakers demanding answers and criticizing the Trump administration’s cavalier approach to national security.
Despite controversy, White House officials defended the chat, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt denying any classified material was shared. The latter added that the White House is investigating how Goldberg’s number was mistakenly added to the thread.
The National Security Council echoed the same sentiments, emphasizing the deep and thoughtful policy coordination between senior officials while assuring the public of no threats to national security or servicemembers.
Upon encountering the story, Trump and Waltz discussed the incident, as reported by sources close to the situation. Waltz has yet to publicly comment on the matter.
The chat mishap parallels the Hillary Clinton private email server controversy from a decade ago, where she was criticized for using a private server during her tenure as secretary of state in the Obama administration. Ironically, several Republican critics of Clinton were allegedly part of the controversial Signal chat.
Goldberg, after initially questioning the chat’s authenticity, later confirmed its credibility when the discussed military action in Yemen materialized. He exited the chat soon after.
When questioned about The Atlantic’s story on Monday, Trump responded: “I don’t know anything about it,” claiming he was hearing about the incident for the first time.
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