President Donald Trump is voicing his support for Mike Waltz following a controversial misstep in which the national security adviser mistakenly included a magazine editor in a group chat focused on sensitive military discussions. Speaking with NBC News, Trump described the incident as a learning moment for Waltz, saying he had “learned a lesson.”
During a phone call on Tuesday, shortly after Politico released a report suggesting Waltz could soon be removed from his position as NSA, Trump backed his adviser.“Michael Waltz has learned a lesson, and he’s a good man,” Trump said to NBC News.
Almost simultaneously, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt reaffirmed Waltz’s standing in the administration through a statement on X, expressing that “the President continues to have confidence in his national security team, including Mike Waltz.”
Leavitt dismissed media reports questioning Waltz’s status, stating, “Stories claiming otherwise are driven by anonymous sources who clearly do not speak to the President, and written by reporters who are thirsty for a ‘scoop,’” clearly pushing back on Politico’s Monday night piece.
In a report published that same evening, Jeffrey Goldberg, Editor-in-Chief of The Atlantic, recounted how he received an unexpected Signal app invitation from Waltz on March 11. Goldberg said he accepted the request, assuming Waltz wished to discuss foreign policy issues like Ukraine or Iran.
Goldberg revealed that the chat included Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Waltz, and that they were deliberating potential U.S. military operations in Yemen targeting the Houthis, who have launched assaults on commercial vessels. He added that one message from Hegseth “contained operational details of forthcoming strikes on Yemen, including information about targets, weapons the U.S. would be deploying, and attack sequencing.”
In response, Leavitt maintained that “No war plans were discussed,” and clarified, “2. No classified material was sent to the thread.”
Trump played down the episode, telling NBC News it was “the only glitch in two months, and it turned out not to be a serious one.” He chalked up the mistake to a staff error, saying Goldberg was inadvertently added to the chat.
“It was one of Michael’s people on the phone. A staffer had his number on there,” Trump explained.
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