President Donald Trump responded Monday to The Atlantic’s Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg after the reporter said he was inadvertently added to a group chat in which senior Cabinet officials discussed airstrikes on Houthi terrorists in Yemen.
Goldberg revealed that he connected with National Security Adviser Mike Waltz on Signal and was unexpectedly added a few days later to a group chat on the app entitled “Houthi PC small group.”
Officials such as Vice President J.D. Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard used the chat to discuss striking the Houthis amid interruptions to shipping channels in the Middle East.
Trump told reporters he was unaware of the reports that Goldberg was accidentally included in the messages.
Below is a brief transcript of the exchange:
REPORTER: Mr. President, your reaction to the story, The Atlantic, that said that some of your top cabinet officials and aides have been discussing very sensitive material through Signal and included an Atlantic reporter for that. What is your response to that and are you going to take it –
TRUMP: I don’t know anything about it. I’m not a big fan of The Atlantic. To me, it’s a magazine that’s going out of business. I think it’s not much of a magazine, but I know nothing about it. You’re saying that they had what?
REPORTER: They were using Signal to coordinate on sensitive materials, and –
TRUMP: Having to do with what? Having to do with what? What were they talking about?
REPORTER: The Houthis.
TRUMP: With the Houthis. You mean the attack on the Houthis? Well, it couldn’t have been very effective because the attack was very effective, I can tell you that. I don’t know anything about it. You’re telling me about it for the first time.
WATCH:
Brian Hughes, the spokesman for the National Security Council, confirmed late on Monday that the group text messages that Goldberg saw were valid.
“This appears to be an authentic message chain, and we are reviewing how an inadvertent number was added to the chain,” Hughes said.
“The thread is a demonstration of the deep and thoughtful policy coordination between senior officials,” he added. “The ongoing success of the Houthi operation demonstrates that there were no threats to troops or national security.”
The texts seemed to show top Trump officials debating the merits of the strikes.
Vance expressed worries about helping Europe without any promise of return, since the Houthi attacks were mainly affecting their trade routes.
“I am not sure the president is aware how inconsistent this is with his message on Europe right now,” Vance wrote his colleagues. “There’s a further risk that we see a moderate to severe spike in oil prices. I am willing to support the consensus of the team and keep these concerns to myself. But there is a strong argument for delaying this a month, doing the messaging work on why this matters, seeing where the economy is, etc.”
Hegseth told Vance, “I understand your concerns – and fully support you raising w/ POTUS.”
He also asserted that acting quickly would avoid making the United States look “indecisive” and ensure that the ceasefire between Israel and Gaza would not fall apart if Israel acted first.
“Whether it’s now or several weeks from now, it will have to be the United States that reopens these shipping lanes,” Waltz offered. “Per the president’s request we are working with DOD and State to determine how to compile the cost associated and levy them on the Europeans.”
Vance reiterated, “I just hate bailing Europe out again,” but told Hegseth, “If you think we should do it let’s go.”
Hegseth answered, “VP: I fully share your loathing of European free-loading. It’s PATHETIC. But Mike is correct, we are the only ones on the planet (on our side of the ledger) who can do this. Nobody else even close.”
