President Donald Trump defended National Security Advisor Mike Waltz after revelations he added an Atlantic editor to a group chat about military war plans—amid reports of White House debate over whether Waltz should be fired over the incident widely characterized as a stunning display of recklessness and incompetence.
U.S. National Security Advisor Michael Waltz during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte ... More
Trump told NBC Tuesday Waltz “has learned a lesson,” calling him “a good man” and blaming a Waltz staffer for adding the magazine editor to the chat, though it’s unclear whether the network asked Trump if Waltz should be fired.
Trump’s comments come after the Wall Street Journal reported Trump is “frustrated” and “directing his ire at Waltz,” citing unnamed administration officials, including one who said Trump asked aides Monday “how Waltz could be so sloppy.”
Politico also reported that White House officials are discussing Waltz’s future in the Trump administration, including whether he should resign voluntarily to avoid Trump having to fire him, with a person close to the White House telling the outlet “everyone in the White House can agree on one thing: Mike Waltz is a f—-ing idiot.”
Waltz added Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg to a chat on the Signal messaging app earlier this month among top administration officials, including Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Trump aide Stephen Miller, in which they discussed the U.S. military’s plans to attack the Yemen-based rebel group, the Houthis, according to Goldberg’s account.
Waltz, who resigned from his seat in Congress representing Florida when he was appointed to the role, has a decorated military history from his time as a Green Beret, an elite class of Army special forces, receiving four Bronze Stars serving in Afghanistan and Africa.
He worked as a defense adviser under former Defense Secretaries Donald Rumsfeld and Robert Gates, and former Vice President Dick Cheney, he frequently appears on Fox News to discuss military issues and criticized the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Hegseth denied “war plans” were discussed in the group chat, calling Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg “a deceitful and highly discredited so-called ‘journalist’ who’s made a profession of peddling hoaxes time and time again,” adding “nobody was texting war plans. And that’s all I have to say about that.” But a National Security spokesman had already confirmed the accuracy of the story.
Multiple Republicans have expressed shock and concern about the incident. Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., told The New York Times Tuesday the White House should “be honest and own up” to the error, placing the blame on Hegseth. “Classified information was put out by the secretary of defense,” he said, adding that Hegseth “has to answer for that.” He said the White House’s denial that classified information was leaked is “baloney.” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., also said Tuesday the White House will “have to figure out now how to ensure that something like this never happens again,” acknowledging there were “errors in judgment.” Rep. Nick LaLota, R-N.Y., told Politico “at minimum, it’s totally sloppy,” and Rep. Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., told reporters “somebody f —-ed up.”
Some unnamed Trump administration officials said Trump is unlikely to fire anyone over the fiasco to avoid both the appearance of guilt and making the story larger, Axios reported. “All this talk you see about Waltz not lasting is just way premature. There’s a Washington feeding frenzy. And we all know that you don’t give the mob what it wants,” an unnamed senior White House official told Axios. Some Republicans have defended Waltz and Hegseth, with House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., telling reporters he has “full confidence” in Waltz after the incident. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt insisted in a statement that “Trump continues to have the utmost confidence in his national security team.”
The Trump administration admitted the error to the Atlantic in its Monday article, with National Security spokesperson Brian Hughes saying the conversation “appears to be an authentic message chain.” Goldberg detailed how he was added to the “Houthi PC small group” chat on March 13 in which top Trump officials discussed “operational details of forthcoming strikes on Yemen, including information about targets, weapons the U.S. would be deploying, and attack sequencing.” Goldberg said he initially doubted the legitimacy of the messages, but realized they were likely real after Trump ordered the strikes described in the channel. Trump initially denied any knowledge of the leak hours after it was made public by The Atlantic, telling reporters “I don’t know anything about it” adding that he’s “not a big fan of The Atlantic.”
Hegseth Says ‘Nobody Was Texting War Plans’ After Atlantic Editor Claims He Was Part Of Signal Chat (Forbes)
Trump Orders Military Strikes Against Houthis In Yemen And Threatens Iran (Forbes)