 "'Has learned a lesson, and he’s a good man': Trump backs Waltz on war plan leak")
President Donald Trump on Tuesday threw his support behind his national security adviser, Michael Waltz, after revelations that a highly sensitive military discussion on Signal included a prominent journalist by mistake.
“Michael Waltz has learned a lesson, and he’s a good man,” Trump told NBC News, marking his first public comments since The Atlantic broke the story detailing how its editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, was inadvertently added to the high-level chat.
Trump downplayed the severity of the incident, asserting that Goldberg’s presence in the chat had “no impact at all” on the military operation in Yemen. “It was one of Michael’s people on the phone. A staffer had his number on there,” he explained. Despite the uproar in Washington, Trump dismissed concerns, calling the situation “the only glitch in two months, and it turned out not to be a serious one.”
Washington reels from security breach
The Atlantic report, which surfaced Monday, sent shockwaves through political circles. According to Politico, internal sources suggest that some White House officials believe Waltz should be dismissed for his “recklessness.” One official was quoted as saying, “Everyone in the White House can agree on one thing: Mike Waltz is a f—ing idiot.”
According to The Telegraph, on the other hand, multiple Trump aides, including four top officials who spoke to Axios, believe Waltz will retain his position.
Democratic lawmakers demand answers
Democratic leaders swiftly condemned the breach, calling it an “astonishingly cavalier approach to national security,” NBC News reported.
The leaked conversation reportedly contained precise details about weapon packages, individual targets and the March 15 strike on Yemen that resulted in over 50 casualties. Goldberg, sceptical at first, described his disbelief upon being added to the chat.
“I could not believe that the national security leadership of the United States would communicate on Signal about imminent war plans. I also could not believe that the national security adviser to the president would be so reckless as to include the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic in such discussions with senior U.S. officials, up to and including the vice president,” he wrote.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsAdministration defends Waltz and chat security
Despite the growing controversy, White House officials have pushed back against claims of a security lapse. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters, “Nobody was texting war plans, and that’s all I have to say about that.”
However, the White House later confirmed the existence of the Signal chat, with National Security Council spokesperson Brian Hughes calling it “a demonstration of the deep and thoughtful policy coordination between senior officials.” Press secretary Karoline Leavitt echoed this sentiment on X (formerly Twitter), insisting “no war plans were discussed” and “no classified material was sent to the thread.” She added that the White House is investigating how Goldberg’s number was mistakenly added to the group.
Waltz’s future in question
Even before this incident, Waltz’s position in the administration was precarious. The New York Times previously reported that some Trump allies viewed him as a likely early casualty due to his past hawkish stances on China, Iran and Ukraine. While Waltz has attempted to align himself more closely with Trump’s rhetoric, describing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as “like an ex-girlfriend that wants to argue” scepticism about his loyalty remains.
As the White House grapples with the fallout from the leak, the comparison to the Hillary Clinton email scandal has not gone unnoticed. Before assuming his role as Hegseth had repeatedly criticised Clinton for her use of a private email server. The irony was not lost on Clinton, who reshared The Atlantic article on Monday with a terse remark: “You have got to be kidding me.”
With Trump’s backing, Waltz may weather the storm—for now.
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