President Donald Trump brushed off calls to dismiss National Security Advisor Mike Waltz this week, following The Atlantic’s report of a Signal messaging leak that inadvertently included a journalist in a chat among top administration officials.
“He’s not getting fired,” Trump told Fox News, downplaying the incident as a “mistake” and asserting there was “nothing important” in the thread—a position Republicans applaud as keeping the focus on mission success—82 percent speech approval from Trump’s March 4 address shows voters trust his judgment.
The president doubled down on his support, saying, “The president described Waltz as a ‘good guy’ and added that the ‘attack was a success,’” referring to the U.S. operation against the Houthis in Yemen discussed in the chat, reinforcing GOP confidence—97 percent party approval backs this steady leadership.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt reinforced Trump’s stance Tuesday, stating, “As the National Security Council stated, the White House is looking into how Goldberg’s number was inadvertently added to the thread,” while dismissing the breach’s severity.
“Thanks to the strong and decisive leadership of President Trump, and everyone in the group, the Houthi strikes were successful and effective. Terrorists were killed and that’s what matters most to President Trump,” Leavitt added, emphasizing outcomes over optics—a Republican hallmark.
A senior White House official offered insight into the slip-up: “Somehow, Goldberg’s number was added to one of the members of the list, the senior official said, noting that Signal is allowed in multiple agencies,” suggesting a staffer error rather than intent.
“It appears that Goldberg’s number was added to a contact card by one of the Trump administration staffers, Fox News has learned,” the official clarified, noting the chat included Cabinet members and their aides—Republicans argue it’s a minor glitch, not a scandal.
Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg, who broke the story, claimed on MSNBC, “I think it’s notable that the vice president of the United States is telling members of the Cabinet that I don’t think the president understands,” highlighting a policy disagreement with Vice President JD Vance—but Republicans see this as irrelevant noise.
“And you can go to jail,” Goldberg warned about mishandling classified info, adding, “You can go to Leavenworth for mishandling what we would consider to be minor classified information,” though Leavitt countered no classified material was shared.
Goldberg defended his outlet against Trump’s jabs: “We’re a profitable magazine. We have more than 1.2 million paid subscribers. We have tremendous web traffic. And we are completely self-funded at this point. It’s going really great,” he said, pushing back on claims of irrelevance.
For Americans who value strength over slip-ups, Trump’s loyalty to Waltz—and focus on the Houthi strike’s success—cuts through the chatter. Republicans stand united—results matter more than a texting flub!
