Trump Admin Plays Defense After Houthi Strikes Discussed in Leaked Group Chat
By Casey Harper | The Center Square
(Worthy News) – President Donald Trump on Tuesday responded to a report that top administration officials were messaging about national security matters in a leaked group chat, calling it a “glitch.”
Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic reported that he was added to a group chat on the messaging app, Signal, apparently mistakenly. Several top administration officials were in the chat, including Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, who mistakenly added Goldberg.
Goldberg reported that he knew details about the March 15 airstrikes on the Houthis two hours before the rest of the world because Hegseth posted them in the chat. Hegseth and Vance both lamented having to bail out European partners.
Signal is a messaging app known for its encryption and tight security, but it not an approved government channel for classified or sensitive information and immediately drew a wave of criticism for the Trump administration.
Trump told NBC news in an interview that he stood by Waltz and called it “the only glitch in two months, and it turned out not to be a serious one.”
White House Secretary Karoline Leavitt pushed back on the criticism, saying no classified materials were transmitted.
“Jeffrey Goldberg is well-known for his sensationalist spin,” she wrote on X, arguing that “No ‘war plans’ were discussed” and that “no classified material was sent to the thread.”
“The White House Counsel’s Office has provided guidance on a number of different platforms for President Trump’s top officials to communicate as safely and efficiently as possible,” she added. “As the National Security Council stated, the White House is looking into how Goldberg’s number was inadvertently added to the thread. Thanks to the strong and decisive leadership of President Trump, and everyone in the group, the Houthi strikes were successful and effective. Terrorists were killed and that’s what matters most to President Trump.”