Trump Addresses ‘F***ing Idiot’ Leak Scandal, Defends National Security Adviser

President Donald Trump defended National Security Adviser Mike Waltz following the Signal app scandal, calling him a “good man” who had “learned a lesson.”

Waltz faced widespread criticism after mistakenly adding The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, to a private Signal group chat discussing plans to bomb Houthi targets in Yemen. The leak sparked outrage, with one White House official bluntly telling Politico: “Everyone in the White House can agree on one thing: Mike Waltz is a f***ing idiot.”

Despite calls for Waltz’s resignation, Trump downplayed the incident in an interview with NBC News. “Michael Waltz has learned a lesson, and he’s a good man,” he said, shifting the blame to staff.

When asked how Goldberg ended up in the chat, Trump responded, “It was one of Michael’s people on the phone. A staffer had his number on there.”

The Signal group, titled Houthi PC Small Group, included Waltz, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Vice President JD Vance, and other top officials. Goldberg later wrote that discussions within the group involved sensitive operational details, some of which, he claimed, could have been damaging if exposed.

The controversy quickly went viral, with critics questioning why classified discussions were held on an unsecured app rather than government-approved systems.

Trump, however, dismissed concerns, insisting Goldberg’s accidental inclusion had “no impact at all.” He also downplayed the backlash, calling it “the only glitch in two months” and insisting the military operation remained “perfectly successful.”

 

Goldberg criticized Waltz for adding him to the conversation and using the Signal app for official communication, raising concerns about security. It remains unclear whom Waltz intended to include in the discussion.

“I’m thinking to myself, I’m glad Mike Waltz didn’t invite a Houthi into the group or a Russian spy, or an adversary of the United States,” Goldberg told MSNBC.

Other participants in the chat included Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, a CIA representative, Trump adviser Stephen Miller, and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles.

An official described Waltz’s actions as “reckless.”

“It was reckless not to check who was on the thread. It was reckless to be having that conversation on Signal. You can’t have recklessness as the national security advisor,” an official told Politico.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed concerns over Waltz’s standing in the administration, condemning “anonymous sources” questioning his position.

“As I said yesterday, the President continues to have confidence in his national security team, including Mike Waltz. Stories claiming otherwise are driven by anonymous sources who clearly do not speak to the President and written by reporters thirsty for a ‘scoop,'” Leavitt wrote on X.

Trump, when asked about The Atlantic‘s report, downplayed it.

“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,” he said Monday.

Since then, the White House has reinforced its defense of Waltz.

“No ‘war plans’ were discussed, and no classified material was sent to the thread,” Leavitt posted on X on Tuesday.

She added that the White House counsel’s office has provided guidance on approved communication platforms for staff.

Goldberg initially suspected he had been added to the Signal chat by mistake, thinking it was a scam or someone impersonating a Trump adviser. He later confirmed it was legitimate.

The National Security Council acknowledged the authenticity of the conversation.

“This appears to be an authentic message chain, and we are reviewing how an inadvertent number was added,” said Brian Hughes, a spokesman for the National Security Council.

He defended the discussion, stating:

“The thread is a demonstration of the deep and thoughtful policy coordination between senior officials. The ongoing success of the Houthi operation demonstrates that there were no threats to troops or national security.”

'Michael Waltz has learned a lesson, and he's a good man,' Trump told NBC News

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‘Michael Waltz has learned a lesson, and he’s a good man,’ Trump told NBC News

Trump ordered the strikes against the Iran-backed rebels in Yemen as a warning to Tehran. The Houthi rebels were targeting ships on the Red Sea from countries with ties to Israel, including the U.S. and UK.

Waltz started the principles group on Signal to coordinate on it, naming it ‘Houthi PC small group.’

Goldberg had his doubts when he found himself added, admitting he was worried that the text chain was a ‘disinformation operation.’

But he also found, as he watched the texts flow, that the statements in it sounded genuine and some of the details matched up.

In a lengthy article for The Atlantic, where he laid out what happened, Goldberg writes he voluntarily held back information that was in a lengthy text written by Hegseth because if it ‘had been read by an adversary of the United States, could conceivably have been used to harm American military and intelligence personnel.’

‘What I will say, in order to illustrate the shocking recklessness of this Signal conversation, is that the Hegseth post contained operational details of forthcoming strikes on Yemen, including information about targets, weapons the U.S. would be deploying, and attack sequencing,’ Goldberg added.

Speaking out for the first time since the story took over the news cycle Monday, Goldberg said he was fascinated by Vance's thoughts, breaking with Trump and also questioning his knowledge on the subject

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Speaking out for the first time since the story took over the news cycle Monday, Goldberg said he was fascinated by Vance’s thoughts, breaking with Trump and also questioning his knowledge on the subject

Smoke plumes rise above buildings following bombardment on Yemen's Huthi-controlled capital Sanaa after the U.S. strikes

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Smoke plumes rise above buildings following bombardment on Yemen’s Huthi-controlled capital Sanaa after the U.S. strikes

Hegseth, meanwhile, lashed out at Goldberg, calling him a “deceitful and highly discredited so-called journalist who has made a career out of peddling hoaxes time and time again.”

He pointed to various stories published by The Atlantic, including reports on Trump’s alleged ties to Russia, the misrepresentation of his “very fine people” remarks following the Charlottesville riots, and the alleged “suckers and losers” comments about fallen soldiers.

“This is a guy who traffics in garbage. This is what he does,” Hegseth added.

He went on to praise American troops fighting the Houthis in Yemen while criticizing the Biden administration’s handling of military operations.

When a reporter asked why certain details were shared on Signal, Hegseth responded, “I’ve heard how it was characterized. Nobody was texting war plans, and that’s all I have to say about that.”

Goldberg, however, pushed back in an interview with CNN on Monday night, insisting the chat included “attack plans,” locations and identities of targets, and the sequence of upcoming strikes against the Houthis. He dismissed Hegseth’s denial as “a lie.”

“No, that’s a lie. He was texting war plans. He was texting attack plans—when targets were going to be hit, how they were going to be hit, who was at the targets, when the next sequence of attacks would happen,” Goldberg said.

He expressed concern that the leaked messages contained information that, if intercepted, could have been exploited by adversaries to endanger U.S. personnel and assets.

Writing in The Atlantic, Goldberg stated: “The information contained in them, if read by an adversary of the United States, could conceivably have been used to harm American military and intelligence personnel, particularly in the broader Middle East, Central Command’s area of responsibility.

“What I will say, to illustrate the shocking recklessness of this Signal conversation, is that Hegseth’s post contained operational details of forthcoming strikes on Yemen, including information about targets, the weapons the U.S. would be deploying, and the attack sequencing.”

The group chat was accidentally shared with Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic magazine

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The group chat was accidentally shared with Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic magazine

President Donald Trump looks on as military strikes are launched against Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis earlier this month

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President Donald Trump looks on as military strikes are launched against Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis earlier this month

After the publication of the article, criticism of the Trump administration figures poured in, with questions being raised about why top secret security matters were being discussed on a messaging app.

‘I’ve accidentally send the wrong person a text. We all have. The unconscionable action was sending this info over non-secure networks. None of this should have been sent on non-secure systems,’ Republican Rep. Don Bacon, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, said.

‘Russia and China are surely monitoring his unclassified phone,’ he added, referring to Hegseth.

And Republican Rep. Mike Lawler wrote on X: ‘Classified information should not be transmitted on unsecured channels — and certainly not to those without security clearances, including reporters. Period. Safeguards must be put in place to ensure this never happens again.’

New Jersey Senator Andy Kim, a Democrat, called on Hegseth to be fired: ‘Really dumb and epically irresponsible. People need to lose their jobs over this. Preferably Hegseth.’

There were also questions as to whether Waltz violated the Espionage Act, which governs the handling of ‘national defense’ information.