Special Poll
President Trump appeared to shift his stance on the growing Signal chat scandal dubbed “Signalgate” saying on Wednesday that he’s always believed National Security Adviser Mike Waltz was behind the mishap, subtly distancing himself from the chaos even as criticism mounts over his administration’s handling of the situation.
“I always thought it was Mike,” Trump said during a brief exchange with reporters. His comment comes just days after initially defending both Waltz and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, even as more evidence surfaced showing that sensitive military details were shared in a group chat that mistakenly included a journalist.
Despite this shift in tone, Trump continued to push back on any criticism directed at Hegseth, who reportedly shared launch times and operational sequencing for a U.S. airstrike on Houthi rebels in Yemen. “How do you bring Hegseth into it? He had nothing to do look, look, it’s all a witch hunt,” Trump claimed.
The Signal controversy, sparked when The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg revealed he had been accidentally added to a group chat of top national security officials, has dominated headlines for days and left the Trump administration scrambling. Participants in the chat reportedly included Vice President JD Vance, Waltz, Hegseth, and other high-ranking officials.
On Tuesday, Trump publicly defended Waltz during a television interview, saying “he’s a good man” and “he learned a lesson.” Trump also stated he had no intention of firing his national security adviser over the incident.
Behind the scenes, however, frustration appears to be growing. Several military and intelligence officials, both current and former, have raised red flags about the content of Hegseth’s messages, calling them “reckless and dangerous.”According to those familiar with the chat, Hegseth provided real-time operational data something that experts say could have put lives at risk if the information had fallen into the wrong hands.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed Wednesday that Trump had reviewed the full transcript of the Signal messages published by The Atlantic, but continued to insist that no classified material was shared. Instead, she described the exchange as “a sensitive policy discussion.”
Still, that explanation has done little to quell the uproar. Many observers are pointing to inconsistencies between the administration’s early denials and the substance of the leaked messages. Critics argue that the administration’s downplaying of the breach, coupled with Trump’s shifting narrative, only adds fuel to the scandal.
As more officials voice concern, Trump’s recent remark “I always thought it was Mike” is being seen by some as an attempt to create distance between himself and the fallout, while leaving his advisers to bear the political consequences.
With frustration growing among allies and critics alike, and with even Trump voters expressing unease over the mishandling of sensitive military discussions, the Signalgate scandal is shaping up to be one of the most damaging controversies of his second term and one that continues to raise questions about accountability, judgment, and trust at the highest levels of government.