President Donald Trump on Monday responded to officials in his administration accidentally including The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg in a group chat that discussed war plans in Yemen.
"Mr. President, your reaction to the story of The Atlantic that said that some of your top Cabinet officials and aides have been discussing very sensitive material through Signal and included an Atlantic reporter for that," a reporter asked. "What is your response to that? And are you going to take any action?"
"I don't know anything about it," Trump said during remarks with Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry at the White House. "I'm not a big fan of The Atlantic."
In an article published Monday, Goldberg wrote that an individual known as Michael Waltz — the same name as the national security advisor — sent him a connection request on the messaging app Signal on March 11. Two days later, Goldberg was added to a group chat called "Houthi PC small group," where senior officials in the Trump administration — including Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth — discussed impending plans for military air strikes against the Houthis in Yemen.
The U.S. said it began striking the Houthis March 15 after the militant group threatened to target Israeli ships in response to the country blocking aid from entering the Gaza Strip. The American attacks have killed at least 53 people, including children, and the Trump administration is vowing to continue the campaign.
A National Security Council spokesman said the administration was “reviewing how an inadvertent number was added to the chain,” and attempted to spin the conversation as proof of “deep and thoughtful policy coordination between senior officials.”
"To me, it's a magazine that's going out of business," the president continued. "I think it's not much of a magazine, but I know nothing about it."
"The attack was very effective, I can tell you that," Trump later said. "I don't know anything about it. You're telling me about it for the first time."
