The media is out to get Donald Trump. But he and his team are fighting back.
And the Trump admin torches this Leftist news outlet with one scathing rebuke.
Trump administration officials are pushing back against claims from The Atlantic that a Signal group chat involving top national security figures revealed sensitive “war plans” for a strike on terrorists in Yemen. The White House insists the magazine has backed off its original framing, with officials labeling the story a fabricated hit piece.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt took to X on Wednesday morning, declaring, “The Atlantic has conceded: these were NOT ‘war plans.'” She dismissed the article as “another hoax written by a Trump-hater who is well-known for his sensationalist spin.”
National Security Advisor Mike Waltz echoed her sentiment on X, emphasizing, “No locations. No sources & methods. NO WAR PLANS. Foreign partners had already been notified that strikes were imminent. BOTTOM LINE: President Trump is protecting America and our interests.”
The controversy erupted Monday when The Atlantic dropped a bombshell report. Titled “The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans,” the piece was penned by editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg, who claimed he’d been inadvertently added to a Signal chat dubbed “Houthi PC Small Group” on March 13.
The chat included heavy hitters like Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Waltz, and Trump’s Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. Goldberg’s firsthand account detailed discussions about a planned Yemen strike targeting terrorist forces, sparking outrage from Democrats and Trump critics who accused the administration of mishandling classified info.
But the Trump team isn’t buying it. Since the story broke, they’ve maintained that nothing sensitive was shared in the chat. By Wednesday, The Atlantic published a follow-up, this time dialing back the “war plans” label in its headline to “attack plans.”
The shift didn’t go unnoticed—administration officials seized on it as proof the outlet overreached. Still, the new article included direct Signal messages, like Hegseth’s notes on F-18s and drone strikes with specific timestamps, which the magazine argued could’ve endangered American pilots if leaked at the wrong moment.
“If this information – particularly the exact times American aircraft were taking off for Yemen – had fallen into the wrong hands in that crucial two-hour period, American pilots and other American personnel could have been exposed to even greater danger than they ordinarily would face,” The Atlantic’s Wednesday report warned. A spokesperson for the outlet doubled down, directing Fox News Digital to a screenshot of Hegseth’s messages as evidence of a “war plan” exposure.
So, what exactly qualifies as a “war plan”? The U.S. Army War College doesn’t pin it down precisely, but a 2020 explainer from the institution describes it as a comprehensive strategy tackling political goals, industrial capacity, and military moves for an entire conflict. “A war plan develops a concept to win a war militarily and politically; it is the detailed ways and means of an overarching strategy,” the college noted. By that measure, Trump officials argue, the Signal chat falls far short.
Hegseth didn’t mince words on X Wednesday, slamming The Atlantic’s reporting. “So, let’s me get this straight. The Atlantic released the so-called ‘war plans’ and those ‘plans’ include: No names. No targets. No locations. No units. No routes. No sources. No methods. And no classified information. Those are some really s—– war plans,” he posted.
“This only proves one thing: Jeff Goldberg has never seen a war plan or an ‘attack plan’ (as he now calls it).” Hegseth added that he was busy in the INDOPACOM region, meeting with commanders crafting “REAL ‘war plans,’” while the media peddled what he called hoaxes.
The Signal app itself has been under a microscope lately. A 2023 Department of Defense memo from the Biden era greenlit its use for some government communication but barred it for “non-public DoD information.”
Meanwhile, a December 2024 Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) guide urged high-profile officials to adopt encrypted apps like Signal to thwart hackers—a recommendation that gained traction after reports of Chinese-linked cellphone data breaches targeting Trump and Vice President JD Vance during the campaign, per Politico.
The Atlantic’s Wednesday piece quoted chat messages showing officials coordinating the Yemen strike’s timing. “1215et: F-18s LAUNCH (1st strike package),” Hegseth wrote in one. Another read, “1345: ‘Trigger Based’ F-18 1st Strike Window Starts (Target Terrorist is @ his Known Location so SHOULD BE ON TIME – also, Strike Drones Launch (MQ-9s).”
Trump told NBC News Tuesday that a staffer in Waltz’s office accidentally added Goldberg to the chat, though he didn’t name names or hint at repercussions.
“It was one of Michael’s people on the phone. A staffer had his number on there,” Trump said, defending Waltz to both NBC and Fox News. “He’s not getting fired,” he told Fox, calling the slip-up a “mistake” with “nothing important” in the thread. “Michael Waltz has learned a lesson, and he’s a good man,” he added, insisting the incident didn’t affect the Yemen operation.
As the dust settles, the Trump administration is framing The Atlantic’s coverage as a desperate smear, while the magazine stands by its scoop.
Stay tuned to the Conservative Column.
