Jeffrey Goldberg, the virulently anti-Trump editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, claims he was accidentally added to a secure Signal group chat where top Trump administration officials discussed sensitive military operations against Iran-backed Houthi terrorists in Yemen.
According to Goldberg, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Vice President JD Vance were among the heavy hitters in the so-called “Houthi PC small group,” discussing plans to deliver a long-overdue smackdown to the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.
And instead of simply excusing himself from the conversation, Goldberg did what elitist far-left journalists do best—he took screenshots of the conversation and ran to his keyboard to try to leak the military operation.
In an article published Monday titled “The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans,” Goldberg alleges that Waltz invited him to the chat on March 13, just two days before American bombs started raining down on Houthi targets.
“On Tuesday, March 11, I received a connection request on Signal from a user identified as Michael Waltz,” said Goldberg.
“I assumed that the Michael Waltz in question was President Donald Trump’s national security adviser. I did not assume, however, that the request was from the actual Michael Waltz.”
“I accepted the connection request, hoping that this was the actual national security adviser and that he wanted to chat about Ukraine, or Iran, or some other important matter.
“Two days later—Thursday—at 4:28 p.m., I received a notice that I was to be included in a Signal chat group. It was called the “Houthi PC small group.”
From Goldberg’s story:
At 11:44 a.m., the account labeled “Pete Hegseth” posted in Signal a “TEAM UPDATE.” I will not quote from this update, or from certain other subsequent texts. The information contained in them, if they had been 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, 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.
The only person to reply to the update from Hegseth was the person identified as the vice president. “I will say a prayer for victory,” Vance wrote. (Two other users subsequently added prayer emoji.)
According to the lengthy Hegseth text, the first detonations in Yemen would be felt two hours hence, at 1:45 p.m. eastern time. So I waited in my car in a supermarket parking lot. If this Signal chat was real, I reasoned, Houthi targets would soon be bombed. At about 1:55, I checked X and searched Yemen. Explosions were then being heard across Sanaa, the capital city.
I went back to the Signal channel. At 1:48, “Michael Waltz” had provided the group an update. Again, I won’t quote from this text, except to note that he described the operation as an “amazing job.” A few minutes later, “John Ratcliffe” wrote, “A good start.” Not long after, Waltz responded with three emoji: a fist, an American flag, and fire. Others soon joined in, including “MAR,” who wrote, “Good Job Pete and your team!!,” and “Susie Wiles,” who texted, “Kudos to all – most particularly those in theater and CENTCOM! Really great. God bless.” “Steve Witkoff” responded with five emoji: two hands-praying, a flexed bicep, and two American flags. “TG” responded, “Great work and effects!”
The chat itself, as recounted by Goldberg, is a masterclass in leadership. Vance raised legit concerns about timing and messaging—proving he’s a thinker, not a yes-man—while Hegseth laid out the stakes: restoring freedom of navigation and reestablishing deterrence that Biden let crumble.
Waltz and Stephen Miller chimed in with hard-nosed realism about trade and European freeloaders. This wasn’t some reckless cowboy operation; it was a deliberate, coordinated effort to protect American interests. And it worked.
National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes believed the Signal chain was real and downplayed Goldberg’s pearl-clutching.
The Signal thread “appears to be an authentic message chain, and we are reviewing how an inadvertent number was added to the chain,” Hughes told the New York Post.
“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.”
In a statement to The Gateway Pundit, William Martin, Communications Director to Vice President J.D. Vance, emphasized the Vice President’s commitment to ensuring that President Trump’s advisers provide thorough briefings on internal deliberations.
“The Vice President’s first priority is always making sure that the President’s advisers are adequately briefing him on the substance of their internal deliberations. Vice President Vance unequivocally supports this administration’s foreign policy. The President and the Vice President have had subsequent conversations about this matter and are in complete agreement.”
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