By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2025-03-30 13:01:25 | Updated at 2025-04-01 13:34:41
2 days ago
Donald Trump was left furious after National Security Advisor Mike Waltz admitted that he accidentally added a journalist to a Signal group chat about military strikes, according to sources close to the president.
Waltz has faced intense scrutiny for accidentally adding Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg to a group chat in which they were discussing sensitive plans to attack Houthi targets in Yemen.
Waltz, who served as an administration official for former President George W. Bush, then went on to tell Fox News' Laura Ingraham that despite taking 'full responsibility' for the leak, his team was going to 'figure out how this happened.'
The president, who publicly lauded Waltz following the leak, calling him a 'good man' who will continue to do a 'good job,' was not nearly as generous behind closed doors, and even considered firing him, insiders told Axios.
He even asked his aides and allies: 'Should I fire him?' as the fallout continued, The New York Times reported.
This news comes after it was revealed that Vice President JD Vance, Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and advisor Sergio Gor told Trump to sack Waltz over the incident.
Others close to the commander in chief said he decided to hang on to Waltz because he wanted to avoid a repeat of his high staff turnover rate that took place during his first term, according to the New York Times.
Although his job is safe for now, one White House source told Axios: 'Mike is gonna make it. Now it's up to Mike to make things better.'
President Donald Trump was left furious after National Security Advisor Mike Waltz admitted that he was to blame for adding Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg to a group chat about military strikes
The president, who publicly lauded Waltz following the leak, calling him a 'good man' who will continue to do a 'good job,' was not nearly as generous behind closed doors, and even considered firing him
This is not the first time Waltz has faced criticism by those in Trump's inner circle, as Tucker Carlson, Steven Bannon and others close to the president have long been skeptical of his neoconservative views.
Following the saga, Bannon said in a text that Waltz kept his job because 'we hate the globalist media even more than we hate neocons,' Axios said.
He's been viewed as being too aggressive by some of Trump's advisers, who think he's too eager to call for military action against Iran despite the president making it clear that he would prefer to make a deal.
Although Trump was mad at Waltz for the crucial slip up, he appeared to be more upset that a member of his team had some kind of connection to Goldberg - a journalist the president is not fond of.
After the leak, he called the Atlantic's editor-in-chief a 'total sleazebag' while defending Waltz.
Goldberg revealed in a story Monday that a 'Michael Waltz' had added him to a group chat on the encrypted app Signal, where top White House officials discussed plans for attacking the Iranian-backed Houthis earlier this month.
On Tuesday, the White House went on defense against the journalist during an event in the Cabinet Room - despite Goldberg omitting certain details from his story for national security reasons.
'But that's an app that a lot of people use,' Trump said of Signal. 'And somebody got on. And I happen to know, the guy's a total sleazebag. The Atlantic, The Atlantic is a failed magazine. Does very, very poorly, nobody gives a damn about it. This gives it a little bit of a shot.'
Others close to the commander in chief said he decided to hang on to Waltz (pictured right) because he wanted to avoid a repeat of his high staff turnover rate that took place during his first term
White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles (pictured) was one of the advisors who suggested Trump fire Waltz over the saga
He continued by claiming that The Atlantic 'made up more stories' and later said that Goldberg was 'basically bad for the country.'
'And it's just a failing magazine and the public understands that,' Trump said.
Despite being safe for now, Waltz is not out of the woods just yet, as one source suggested he could be 'gone in a couple of weeks' if they find the right time once the news cycle passes, Politico reported.
While Trump was angry at Waltz for the slip-up, he refused to fire him, because he didn't want to give the press 'a scalp,' an anonymous told Politico.
Waltz traveled with Vance and the Second Lady to Greenland on Friday, as Trump continues to push the idea of taking over the territory.
Despite the report suggesting he pushed to get rid of Waltz, he too was defiant on Friday.
Vance said: 'If you think you're going to force the president of the United States to fire anybody you've got another thing coming! I'm the vice president saying it here on Friday: We are standing behind our entire national security team.'
Waltz's spokesperson added that 'the chattering of unnamed sources should be treated with the skepticism of gossip from people lacking the integrity to attach their names.'
Waltz traveled with Vance and the Second Lady to Greenland on Friday, as Trump continues to push the idea of taking over the territory. The VP is also said to have called for Waltz to be sacked following the leak
'Mike Waltz serves at the pleasure of President Trump and the president has voiced his support for Mike,' Spokesperson Brian Hughes added.
'The entire National Security leadership team has led a successful and effective counter terrorism mission and that is what media and Democrats are trying to obscure.
Waltz told Ingraham last week he 'built the group' but claimed the 'mistake' may have actually been an act of subterfuge by the journalist.
'I take full responsibility,' Waltz said during his tortured explanation of the debacle on Tuesday night.
'I don't text him,' Waltz said about The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg. 'He wasn't on my phone, and we're going to figure out how this happened.'
The national security advisor was pressed on how the journalist was included in the conversation about military strikes in the Middle East.
'We have the best technical minds looking at how this happened,' he claimed.
Waltz then floated the idea that the journalist did something to wiggle his way into the text chain.
'We're going to figure out how this happened,' he reiterated, adding his team is working to determine if the journalist 'did it deliberately or it happened in some other technical mean is what we are trying to figure out.'
The conflicting answers did little to shed light on a scandal surrounding the messages among government leaders about planning an attack on Houthi fighters in Yemen, that included details on weapons and strike coordinates.
Sergio Gor, another key Trump advisor, also suggested that Trump fire Waltz
Although Trump was mad at Waltz for the crucial slip up, he appeared to be more upset that a member of his team had some kind of connection to Goldberg - a journalist the president is not fond of
Reacting to the national security advisor's appearance, one U.S. official slammed Waltz as a leaker and a traitor to the administration.
'He never liked the president and he leaks,' they told DailyMail.com.
It was the national security advisor's first appearance addressing the scandal since the journalist who was added to the sensitive chat, Goldberg, published a story about being added to the top secret group on Monday.
'Have you ever had somebody's contact that shows their name and then you have somebody else's number there?' Waltz asked Ingraham.
'What I can tell you for certain, wasn't reaching out or talking to him at all,' Waltz said, later adding he doesn't know the reporter, despite Goldberg saying the pair have met.
The national security boss said he was so concerned about how the reporter got into the chat that he has spoken to Elon Musk, the president's self-proclaimed tech support, about investigating the matter.
Waltz also skewered Goldberg, ridiculing his past reporting and making myriad accusations against him.
Trump's advisor made it seem like it was Goldberg's fault for being added to the group chat with Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and more.
Waltz told the Fox News host that Goldberg the 'scum' of journalists and said he has a 'horrible reputation.'
Waltz struggled to send a clear message about who was exactly to blame for the ordeal, vacillating between saying he was responsible and it was Goldberg's fault.
Practically all Republicans have tried to explain away the scandal as a non-issue.
Waltz noted how the operation was a success and the attack on the Houthis last week was 'an incredible strike.'
'They don't want to talk about the success here,' the national security advisor complained.
