DONALD Trump has stood by his national security adviser Mike Waltz after he was branded a “f***ing idiot” over the Signal war chat leak.
The President defended his aide after it was reported that Waltz may be treated as the “fall guy” over the row – which saw a journalist added to a group chat discussing plans to strike the Houthi rebels.
Waltz reportedly started the text chain on the encrypted app Signal along with top officials including Vice President JD Vance, defence boss Pete Hegseth, and secretary of state Marco Rubio.
And one White House source described him a “f***ing idiot” over the debacle, reported Politico.
But in a an interview with NBC, Trump said he was standing by Waltz over the group chat – saying it was merely a “glitch”.
US officials have also insisted that no classified information was divulged in the Signal messages.
Trump said: “‘Michael Waltz has learned a lesson, and he’s a good man.”
The US President also dismissed the story – saying it had “no impact at all” on the strikes on the Houthis in Yemen who are trying to attack shipping in the Red Sea.
The President said the attack was “perfectly successful” and said the leak was the “only glitch in two months, and it turned out not to be a serious one”.
Trump’s comments were the first time he has directly commented on the leak after last night claiming ignorance.
He himself was not part of the group chat that has sparked the storm.
The bombshell blunder came to light after The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg revealed he was accidentally added to a Signal group chat with top Trump officials.
Defense Secretary Hegseth furiously denied the claims Monday, insisting: “Nobody was texting war plans and that’s all I have to say about that.”
He ripped into Goldberg, calling him a “deceitful and highly discredited so-called journalist” and accused him of “peddling hoaxes time and time again,” citing past reports on Trump’s alleged Russia ties and disputed remarks about fallen U.S. soldiers.
Goldberg fired back on MSNBC, saying Hegseth’s denial was “a lie” and that the messages he received contained “precise details” of the March 15 strikes — including specific targets, sequencing of the operation, and what weapons would be deployed.
“It was a minute-by-minute accounting of what was about to happen, organized by CENTCOM,” he said.
The White House National Security Council confirmed the messages “appear to be authentic” and announced a review into how Goldberg’s number was added to the group.
NSC spokesman Brian Hughes described the thread as “a demonstration of the deep and thoughtful policy coordination between senior officials,” but failed to address why they were using Signal — an app available to the public — to discuss sensitive military operations.
President Trump, meanwhile, claimed total ignorance when asked about the leak.
He told reporters: “I don’t know anything about it.
“I’m not a big fan of The Atlantic. To me, it’s a magazine that’s going out of business.”
Security expert: Trump leak was “tragic and comedic”
by Juliana Cruz Lima
TOP security specialist Will Geddes has branded the Trump administration’s Signal chat leak a “tragic and comedic” failure that could have endangered lives and shaken global trust in the US.
Geddes slammed the use of Signal – an open-source encrypted app – for discussing classified military plans, saying it showed a staggering lapse in judgment.
He told The Sun: “What is quite astounding in this particular instance is the levels of individuals of seniority in Donald Trump’s administration who all got involved… and didn’t question who else was in that group.”
Geddes said the decision to use Signal pointed to a culture of convenience rather than security.
“With heightened levels of security comes heightened levels of inconvenience,” he explained.
“More often than not, whenever there is some kind of leak or breach, this will be down to people taking shortcuts, it will be down to convenience, and it will come down to inherent laziness.”
“Why they would have used Signal would have been because it would have been simple to use. They all had it. They probably regularly used it… and you become slightly more numb to [sensitive information].”
Geddes warned the leak could have serious consequences for ongoing operations and diplomatic relationships, particularly after officials in the chat called European allies “freeloaders.”
“The rhetoric is not gonna make many allies feel particularly comforted,” the expert said.
He also placed responsibility on National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, who was apparently the one who accidentally added The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg to the chat.
Geddes also criticised Trump’s dismissive response, saying: “This is not a matter that should be treated lightly… especially by the enemies.”
According to Goldberg, the leak began on March 11, when he spoke with National Security Adviser Mike Waltz on Signal and was later added to a chat named “Houthi PC small group.”
The editor believes he was mistaken for Jamieson Greer, a former U.S. Trade Representative, due to their shared initials “JG.”
Over the following days, Goldberg received messages from senior Trump officials during the strikes.
One message from Waltz referenced “tasking per the President’s guidance” in classified inboxes.
JD Vance raised concerns, writing: “There is a real risk that the public doesn’t understand this or why it’s necessary.”
Hegseth responded: “I understand your concerns,” before pushing ahead with the argument to strike.
After the attacks, messages praised the operation as an “amazing job” and congratulated Hegseth for the “good start.”
The incident has rocked the Trump administration, with Waltz reportedly at risk of losing his job.
“It was reckless not to check who was on the thread,” a senior official told Politico.
“You can’t have recklessness as the national security adviser.”
Despite the uproar, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday that “President Trump continues to have the utmost confidence in his national security team, including National Security Advisor Mike Waltz.”
Democratic senator Ruben Gallego slammed the fiasco as “Amateur hour,” while experts and lawmakers demand answers on how such a colossal breach of national security happened — and why war plans were being discussed in a group chat in the first place.
