The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans
AtlanticMAR 27
White House Accidentally Shares Military Plan Group Chat With Journalist
Above: US Pres. Donald Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth deliver remarks in the Oval Office of the White House on March 21, 2025, in Washington, DC. Image copyright: Anna Moneymaker/Staff/Getty Images News via Getty Images
The Spin
Democratic narrative
The Trump White House's staggering incompetence has been laid bare by its horrifying use of Signal to plan military strikes, culminating in the egregious leaking of sensitive details to a journalist. This blunder jeopardized national security and risked American lives — exposing a chaotic administration that can't be trusted to protect critical operations or lead with any semblance of discipline.
Republican narrative
No one can deny that this was a slip-up, but in the end, a slip-up is all it's turned out to be. Everything discussed in the chat was unclassified information about the Houthis, making the Democrats' smear campaign fall flat on its face. Unlike Hillary Clinton, who conducted her official State Department work on an unprotected server, Trump's Cabinet was using a CIA-approved encrypted app. Waltz made a mistake, but not the mistake his opponents claim.