Written by Elijah Thompson.
Jeffrey Goldberg, the staunchly anti-Trump editor of The Atlantic, stumbled into a secure Signal group chat where top Trump administration officials hashed out plans to strike Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen—an accidental inclusion that’s now a public saga. Instead of bowing out, he grabbed screenshots and turned it into a story, raising questions about security, intent, and the operation itself.
An Unlikely Guest in a High-Stakes Chat
It started with a ping on March 11. Goldberg got a Signal connection request from someone tagged as Michael Waltz—Trump’s national security adviser, he presumed. Skeptical but intrigued, he accepted, figuring it might be a chance to talk Ukraine or Iran. Two days later, on March 13, he was looped into a group labeled “Houthi PC small group.” The roster was a who’s-who: Waltz, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Vice President JD Vance—all plotting a military move against Yemen’s Houthi insurgents.
Goldberg didn’t just lurk. At 11:44 a.m., Hegseth dropped a “TEAM UPDATE”—a detailed rundown of imminent strikes, spelling out targets, weapons, and sequence. Goldberg held back the verbatim text, citing risks to U.S. personnel if it leaked to foes, but he didn’t mince words: it was reckless to chat so openly. Vance chimed in with a prayer for victory; others tossed in emoji—prayers, fists, flags. Waltz later called it an “amazing job,” John Ratcliffe dubbed it a “good start,” and a chorus of aides like Susie Wiles and Steve Witkoff piled on praise.
Goldberg tested it. Parked at a supermarket lot, he waited. Hegseth’s note pegged the first blasts at 1:45 p.m. Eastern. By 1:55, X lit up—explosions rocked Sanaa. The chat wasn’t a hoax; it was live. What unfolded was a coordinated hit on Houthi sites, a response to their attacks on Red Sea shipping—vessels like the Maersk fleet, choked by drone swarms since late 2023. This wasn’t idle talk; it was policy in motion.
From Oops to Exposé
Goldberg’s piece, “The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans,” hit Monday, framing the slip as a security blunder. He didn’t buy it as random—Waltz invited him, he says, though how his number got there’s a mystery. The White House didn’t dodge it. NSC spokesman Brian Hughes told the New York Post it “appears authentic” and they’re probing the mix-up. No harm done, Hughes argued—the operation rolled out fine, no troops exposed.
But Goldberg saw chaos. A chat spilling strike details—think missile types, timing—could’ve tipped off Iran or the Houthis if it leaked wider. He’s not wrong to flag the risk; a single breach in a war zone can shift outcomes. Yet the group’s tone wasn’t cavalier. Vance pressed on timing—when to brief Trump, how to spin it—while Hegseth framed the why: Biden’s inaction let Houthi drones clog trade routes, costing billions. Miller jabbed at Europe’s freeloading—fair, given their muted response to Red Sea woes. This was calculated, not cowboy.
The operation clicked. Strikes since March 15 have pounded Houthi launch sites—drones down, shipping lanes freer. CENTCOM’s logged dozens of hits, easing pressure on a chokehold that’s spiked freight rates 300% since November. Goldberg’s leak didn’t derail it, but his move—screenshots over silence—stirs the pot. He’s not just reporting; he’s accusing.
A Peek at Trump’s Inner Circle
The chat’s a window into Trump’s team—raw, unfiltered. Hegseth led with logistics, Waltz with grit, Vance with caution—prayer aside, he’s no rubber stamp. Rubio stayed quiet here, but his State role hints at broader buy-in. Aides like Wiles and Witkoff cheered—emoji-heavy, sure, but their nods to “those in theater” show focus on the ground game. This isn’t a clique of hotheads; it’s a crew juggling war, trade, and optics.
Contrast that with Goldberg’s lens. He’s built a career bashing Trump—his 2020 “losers and suckers” piece still rankles the right. Slipping into this chat feeds his narrative: reckless power, unchecked. But the operation’s success undercuts that. Houthi attacks dropped post-strikes—shippers like Hapag-Lloyd rerouted less by late March. Deterrence, the goal Hegseth touted, is taking root. Goldberg’s got a scoop, but the “shocking” label feels stretched when the outcome holds.
Security’s the real snag. Signal’s encrypted—end-to-end, no less—but adding a critic like Goldberg screams error. Hughes says it’s under review—someone fat-fingered a number, maybe. Still, in a world where Iran’s proxies watch every move—Houthi cash flows trace back to Tehran—that’s a flub you don’t shrug off. The chat’s discipline held, but the door shouldn’t have cracked open.
Our Take
Goldberg’s stumble into Trump’s war room is a fluke that reveals more about him than them. The team’s Houthi plan—smart, executed—shows a machine that works, not one that’s reckless. Strikes hit, trade flows eased; no disaster followed his leak. But the breach stings—inviting a foe into sensitive talks isn’t a glitch, it’s a lapse. Goldberg’s rush to publish fits his anti-Trump beat, yet the story’s less about chaos and more about a job done despite him. The administration’s got a win here; they just need a tighter lock on the door.
