National Security Advisor Mike Waltz said Jeffrey Goldberg’s number got “sucked in” to his phone, while trying to explain how The Atlantic editor-in-chief got added to an administration Signal group chat about strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen.
“A staffer did not put [Goldberg’s] contact information—?” Fox News host Laura Ingraham began to ask Waltz in an interview Tuesday night.
“Of course not. No,” Waltz interjected.
“But how did it end up in your phone?” Ingraham asked.
“That’s what we’re trying to figure out,” Trump’s national security advisor replied.
“Okay. But that’s a pretty big problem,” Ingraham remarked. “That’s disturbing.”
“I mean, I’m sure everybody out there has had a contact where you, it was said one person and then a different phone number,” Waltz said.
“But you’ve never talked to him before. So, how’s the number on your phone? I mean, I’m not an expert in any of this, but it’s just curious. How’s the number on your phone?” Ingraham pushed.
“Well, if you have somebody else’s contact and then it, and then somehow it gets sucked in. It gets sucked in,” Waltz responded.
“So, the person that I thought was on there was never on there. It was this guy,” Waltz also said.
“Who was that person?” Ingraham inquired.
“Well, I’m not — look, Laura, I take, I take responsibility,” Waltz replied. “I built the group.”
