A recent publication in The Atlantic has revealed a significant communication mishap involving top U.S. officials, including Michael Waltz, Vice President JD Vance, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The surprising announcement threw a harsh spotlight on a burgeoning thread on the Signal private-messaging platform. In this Twitter thread, journalist Jeffrey Goldberg participated in discussions of imminent military attacks. We would expect President Donald Trump to be very angry at a Michael Waltz type for such an egregious breach of protocol. He later scapegoated the whole thing on a level staffer.
On Tuesday, President Trump told NBC News it was a “terrible thing” that happened. His remarks followed a question about the issue — an explosive report on the situation that had just emerged a day earlier. He doubled down on his support for Michael Waltz, calling him a “good man,” who “had learned a lesson.” Trump made sure to point out that it wasn’t Waltz’s blame for putting in Goldberg, the Atlantic’s editor in chief. Instead, he admitted that the error was his, having received inaccurate information from another staffer.
"Michael Waltz has learned a lesson, and he's a good man." – President Donald Trump
Threading Goldberg into the conversation on accident proved to be a dangerous misstep. It held important, high-level discussions about the future of military operations. In private, however, Trump declared that his national security advisor remained in his good graces. He has since sought to downplay the incident, claiming it was an isolated error. The president’s remarks were meant to promise that in his administration, that kind of subterfuge wouldn’t make it out into the public eye.
Also joining the enclosed text thread were Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Their presence underscored how tender the conversations were. The details of the military strikes have not been made public. This disclosure has sparked discussions about the safety and privacy of correspondence inside the White House.
Trump’s statements to NBC News would suggest that was exactly an attempt to prevent any blowback from the incident. Additionally, he blamed the incident on a lower-level employee. In doing so, he wanted to shield Waltz from criticism while professionally depressing his own team’s morale. This approach aligns with Trump's broader strategy of defending his administration's personnel against external scrutiny.
The Atlantic's report has raised questions about the protocols surrounding communication among top officials, particularly when discussing sensitive military matters. The recent shift to Signal, an encrypted messaging app, underscores everyone’s need for secure, reliable channels of communication. It also exposes weaknesses when bad actors are allowed into the discussion.
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