“Unfamiliar App Unleashes Havoc in Trump’s Second Term: Who’s to Blame?”
In an unprecedented leak, President Donald Trump’s tight-knit circle of advisers found themselves in a sticky situation when a journalist, Jeffrey Goldberg, whom Trump has no love lost for, was unknowingly added to a private group chat. The group chat, which took place on the encrypted messaging app Signal, involved the President’s top brass discussing secret military plans for an attack on Yemen’s Houthi rebels. Before the fiasco, Trump, a recent convert to texting, claimed he had never heard of Signal.
The unexpected intrusion of the journalist into the private chat has soured Trump’s perception of his second term’s strong start, calling the incident the first “glitch” of his administration. This blunder has left Trump incensed, particularly because of his longstanding grudge against Goldberg, the Atlantic editor-in-chief at the heart of this debacle.
As he grappled with the concept of the Signal app, Trump expressed his disdain for a world where government secrets are so easily accessible, even suggesting it may not be the best avenue for communication. He voiced his preference for in-person meetings in a room with “solid lead walls and a lead ceiling and a lead floor,” but acknowledged that reality often gets in the way of such ideal scenarios.
Following the incident, Trump instructed his top officials to review their use of Signal, an app he doesn’t even have on his phone. This re-evaluation process is expected to unfold in the near future.
Throughout the week, the President attempted to keep his frustrations under wraps, deciding that firing anyone over the mishap would only hand a victory to his adversaries and the media. Despite his public facade, Trump has privately expressed irritation over the incident, feeling it reflects poorly on his administration.
By Wednesday, Trump had shifted blame from a supposed “lower level staffer” to his national security adviser, Mike Waltz, who had taken responsibility for the error. Despite his team’s defense of Signal as an “approved” method for discussing sensitive information, Trump hinted at a potential reconsideration of its usage.
In a classic Trump move, the President denied any major wrongdoing, instead shifting the spotlight onto Goldberg and the media for blowing the story out of proportion. Yet, behind his dismissals, Trump didn’t appear as unperturbed as his top officials about the incident, admitting on the “VINCE” podcast that someone in his group “either screwed up or it’s a bad signal.”
Key officials involved in the chat weren’t entirely convinced the incident was a minor hiccup. Secretary of State Marco Rubio acknowledged the major mistake of adding a journalist to the chat, while Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Vice President JD Vance offered their unique takes on the situation.
Inside the White House, blame has mainly pointed towards Waltz, who the chat screenshots suggest added Goldberg to the group. However, Waltz’s vague public statements about how Goldberg ended up in the conversation have left many questions unanswered.
Amidst the chaos, the National Security Council, the White House counsel’s office, and Tesla founder Elon Musk, tasked with reforming the federal government, launched an investigation into the matter. An update on their findings is expected soon.
Trump’s allies are less than impressed with the White House’s attempts to brush off the incident. Senator Kevin Cramer and Dave Portnoy, the founder of Barstool Sports, expressed their disappointment, with Portnoy bluntly stating, “Somebody has to go down for this.”
In light of this debacle, the Senate Armed Services Committee has requested an inquiry and assessment from the Pentagon’s acting inspector general. Meanwhile, the White House is dealing with the fallout and its potential impact on upcoming elections, particularly in Florida’s 6th Congressional District.
As the scandal unfolds, one thing is clear: this unanticipated “glitch” in Trump’s second term has rocked the administration to its core, sparking a wave of blame and uncertainty that’s far from over.