By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2025-03-25 18:22:53 | Updated at 2025-03-29 03:09:52
3 days ago
The hunt is on for a White House aide being blamed for putting The Atlantic's editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg on a Signal group chat alongside key Trump administration officials.
On Tuesday, President Donald Trump pointed fingers at an unnamed aide and not on his National Security Advisor Michael Waltz, who appeared likely to be the fall guy for the White House's biggest scandal to-date.
In his piece, Goldberg said a 'Michael Waltz' had added him on the Signal chat, which also included key officials including Vice President J.D. Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
'It was one of Michael's people on the phone. A staffer had his number on there,' Trump told NBC by phone in an interview Tuesday morning.
Speculation is now swirling about who the staffer is.
'Michael Waltz has learned a lesson, and he's a good man,' the president also told NBC.
Trump's decision to stand by Waltz comes after Politico reported that he was the likeliest official to be sacked over the embarrassing episode.
'Everyone in the White House can agree on one thing: Mike Waltz is a f**ing idiot,' said one Politico source, identified as a 'person close to the White House.'
The hunt is on for a White House aide being blamed for putting The Atlantic's editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg on a Signal group chat alongside key Trump administration officials
The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg shared screengrabs of a chat with key administration officials he was accidentally added to earlier this month
A senior administration official told the site that they are involved in a number of text threads about Waltz's future at the White House.
'Half of them saying he's never going to survive or shouldn't survive,' the official said.
Two high-level White House aides floated the idea that Waltz should resign to prevent President Donald Trump from having to be in a 'bad position.'
'It was reckless not to check who was on the thread. It was reckless to be having that conversation on Signal. You can’t have recklessness as the national security adviser,' the official said.
A third source told Politico that Trump has spoken to Waltz about the matter.
Politically Trump may have the most cover if he axes Waltz over someone like Hegseth, who the White House fought tooth and nail to get through Senate confirmation.
There is some skepticism of Waltz in the MAGAverse due to him previously working for Republican Vice President Dick Cheney, whose 'neocon' views differ from Trump's 'America First.'
National Security Advisor Michael Waltz's job appears to be secured for now, with President Donald Trump blaming an unnamed aide for the Signal mess-up
It also remains a mystery who was intended to be added to the Signal group chat instead of Goldberg.
The only Waltz aide mentioned by name in The Atlantic piece was Alex Wong, the national security adviser's deputy.
The person using the 'Michael Waltz' handle wrote to the group: 'Team - establishing a principles [sic] group for coordination on Houthis, particularly for over the next 72 hours.'
'My deputy Alex Wong is pulling together a tiger team at deputies/agency Chief of Staff level following up from the meeting in the Sit Room this morning for action items and will be sending that out later this evening,' Waltz wrote.
