Donald Trump insisted he “didn’t know anything” about the messages – leaked after Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief for The Atlantic, was added to his security team’s group chat
Donald Trump is “on the rampage” following the leaked war plan texts debacle, it is said.
The US President is understood to be raging at the blunder which led to the leak of messages detailling the level of the contempt some of his key cabinet members feel for their “free-loading” European allies. Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief for The Atlantic, was somehow added to the group chat on communication app Signal, on which the likes of JD Vance and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth have shared their intentions – and opinions – on the conflict in Ukraine.
No one has been fired over the fiasco but pressure had mounted on national security adviser Mike Waltz on Tuesday after he took “full responsibility”. Although Mr Trump maintained his bluster in public, it is believed the world leader is angry at the situation.
A close aide reportedly told a British journalist: “The President is on the rampage. It’s not safe to talk. I’m keeping my head down.” These comments are said to have happened during a very brief phone conversation, after which they aide abruptly put the phone down.
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The alarming exchange happened between the aide and Andrew Neil, the veteran journalist and broadcaster who today explores the saga in his Daily Mail opinion column. In it, Mr Neil says “Whatever his displays of public support, Trump is privately furious, raging in colourful language at the ‘stupidity’ of Waltz and others. I called a close aide of the President for a heads up on the situation… ‘The President is on the rampage,’ I was told. ‘It’s not safe to talk. I’m keeping my head down.’ He then hung up.
“Long after the row over security breaches dies down, what we have learned about the Trump administration’s unvarnished attitude to Europe could well turn out to be the most significant feature of the Signal scandal. It has gone from mere animosity to outright hostility. If Europe’s leaders still don’t realise, they’re now on their own – after the revelations from the Signal chatroom, they cannot be in any doubt.”
Mr Waltz, who is said to be one of 18 senior members of Trump’s team in the group chat, said on Tuesday he took “full responsibility” for the episode – but admitted he didn’t know how Mr Goldberg ended up in the group.
“This one (Mr Goldberg) in particular, I’ve never met, don’t know, never communicated with,” Mr Waltz said. He later said, on Fox News, he built the message chain and stressed “we made a mistake” in relation to how the reporter got in. The politician added: “We made a mistake. We’re moving forward.”