In response to calls for Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s resignation following a leaked Signal chat that revealed details about a military operation in Yemen, President Donald Trump expressed his support for Hegseth on Wednesday.
The controversy arose when Hegseth inadvertently included Jeffrey Goldberg, editor in chief of The Atlantic, in a Signal chat where he shared information about the strike. Goldberg subsequently published the complete messages on Wednesday morning, prompting discussions about the incident.
As several Congressional Democrats urged Hegseth to step down, reporters inquired whether Trump believed Hegseth should consider resigning. Trump defended Hegseth, stating, “He has nothing to do with this; Hegseth is doing a fantastic job. How is Hegseth involved in this?”
The president acknowledged to DailyMail.com that Mike Waltz, his national security advisor, took responsibility for Goldberg’s unintended inclusion in the chat. Trump remarked, “Mike Waltz, I suppose he claimed responsibility. Nobody else had anything to do with it.” When asked about the investigation, he added, “I guess, I don’t know, I was told it was Mike.”
Trump further minimized the significance of the controversy surrounding Hegseth’s disclosure of classified information, emphasizing the success of the operation. “The attack was incredibly successful that night, so there was no harm done,” he stated.
The president also questioned the functionality of the Signal app and the rationale behind the Democrats’ calls for Hegseth’s resignation. “It’s all a witch hunt, you see. You want to know if Signal works or not. To be honest with you, I don’t know if Signal works. I think that Signal could be defective,” Trump commented.
While the encrypted app, which deletes messages after they are read, is commonly used for communication in Washington, DC, it is not considered a secure platform for classified information.
“You, we, and everyone else utilize Signal, but we must ascertain whether it is a viable platform,” Trump remarked.
Democratic Senators Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego from Arizona called for Hegseth’s resignation due to his revelation of information concerning operations on the platform.
Kelly expressed on X that the Signal incident stemmed from having the most unqualified Secretary of Defense in history. “We are fortunate that no service members lost their lives, but Secretary Hegseth must resign for the good of our nation and military,” he stated.
Gallego echoed these sentiments on social media, stating, “This could have led to the deaths of our men and women!” He further asserted, “The Defense Secretary must resign. It is disgraceful how incompetent they are and how they attempted to conceal it.”
In response, Hegseth criticized The Atlantic on Tuesday for mischaracterizing his messages as “war plans,” asserting that he did not reveal any classified information during the discussion.
The so-called “war plans” published by The Atlantic included no names, targets, locations, units, paths, references, or techniques. “There was no classified information either,” he emphasized. “Those so-called war plans are utterly worthless.”
On March 15, Hegseth sent a ‘Team Update’ to the Signal group comprising senior Trump administration officials, providing them with advance notice of the timing and weaponry for the planned military strikes.
Hegseth stated, “This is when the first bombs will definitely drop,” indicating the timing of operations that involved sea-based Tomahawk missiles and F-18s.
However, Hegseth insisted that he was simply providing a “team update” and had not disclosed any “war plans.”
“My duty is to deliver real-time updates to the team. Everyone is kept informed with general updates as they happen,” he explained. “That is what I did. That is my role.”
Senator Marco Rubio also addressed questions regarding the incident on Wednesday.
Rubio remarked, “It is evident that a substantial error occurred, and a journalist was included. I hold no animosity towards reporters, but their presence in that context is inappropriate.”
He referred to the Pentagon’s assertion that the text thread did not include any classified information.
Rubio emphasized, “The operation and the safety of our servicemen were never jeopardized by any of the information contained within.”
