,
and
Updated: March 29, 2025 at 2:14 p.m. EDT yesterday at 2:14 p.m. EDT
“Mistake.” “Glitch.” “Entirely permissible.” “Hoax.”
Those are among the varied and shifting responses President Donald Trump and his allies have put forth since Monday’s revelation that top Cabinet officials had discussed an upcoming military strike in the messaging app Signal — and that a civilian, Atlantic editor in chief Jeffrey Goldberg, was mistakenly added to the group chat by national security adviser Michael Waltz’s account.
Over the first 72 hours, the administration downplayed the incident and blamed Trump’s enemies, while leaving unanswered questions about whether Signal was a secure medium to list strike times and weapons, why those strike details would not have been classified and how the administration discusses national security matters.
Here’s how the Trump administration’s response evolved:
March 24
The White House said it was investigating the mistake, while Trump, his allies and the Cabinet officials on the group chat largely remained silent for the day. That evening, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth used three lines of response that would quickly become central to the administration’s approach: Deny the contents of the chat amounted to war plans. Urge Americans to focus on the success of the Yemen attacks. Discredit the journalist by baselessly claiming he makes up hoaxes.
12:17 p.m.
The Atlantic publishes the story. The White House confirms the chat.
The White House National Security Council confirmed to the Atlantic that the Signal chat was authentic and that an “inadvertent” number was added. Spokesman Brian Hughes said the NSC was reviewing how it happened, and repeated that in a statement to The Washington Post.
2:41 p.m.
Trump says he knows nothing about it
Trump addresses report of possible security leak on Signal
0:47
(The Washington Post)
“I don’t know anything about it. I’m not a big fan of the Atlantic. To me it’s a magazine that’s going out of business.”
— Donald Trump, speaking to reporters at a White House event
3:24 p.m.
“President Trump continues to have the utmost confidence in his national security team, including National Security Advisor Mike Waltz.”
— White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, in a statement to CNN
3:40 p.m.
“Clearly, I think, the administration has acknowledged it was a mistake.”
— House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana), speaking to reporters at the Capitol
Johnson told reporters after visiting the White House that the administration was investigating the journalist’s inclusion in the group chat and would “make sure that it doesn’t happen again.” He seemed to acknowledge the potential risk of what happened, saying, “No one was jeopardized by it, we’re thankful for that.”
6:39 p.m.
Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi) says ‘mistakes were made’
Some other congressional Republicans had also expressed alarm:
6:43 p.m.
Johnson says Waltz should not resign
“[It] would be a terrible mistake for there to be adverse consequences on any of the people that were involved in that call. They were trying to do a good job, the mission was accomplished with precision, I think that’s what matters in the end. They’ll fix it.”
— Johnson, speaking to reporters at the Capitol
7:05 p.m.
Defense secretary suggests Goldberg peddles ‘hoaxes’
Hegseth responded to questions from reporters after arriving in Hawaii for a week-long trip to military bases in the Pacific. He suggested Goldberg is a “deceitful and highly discredited” journalist who “peddles in garbage.” He then shifted his focus to celebrate the success of the attack on the Houthis.
7:06 p.m.
Before walking away from reporters, Hegseth disputed that what was shared were “war plans.”
Hegseth on Signal chat: ‘No one was texting war plans’
1:33
(The Washington Post)
Story continues below advertisement
March 25
As the day began, the Trump team rallied around a new message: The Signal chat, they said, had contained no classified information. By midday, the White House took the strategy a step farther, alleging the reporting on the Signal breach was part of a coordinated campaign to distract from Trump’s agenda. A White House spokesman labeled those pushing the issue “enemies of America.”
8:28 a.m.
“It’s simply another messaging app, like your iMessage app on your iPhone or email servers.”
— Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas), on Fox News
In an interview on Fox News, Cotton said that Signal had been authorized by the Biden administration but didn’t address its appropriateness for discussing the Yemen strike. Cotton also praised the attack’s success, saying he hoped the day’s intelligence hearing would focus on the president’s action in Yemen.
8:35 a.m.
White House says the chat contained no classified material, no war plans
On social media, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt attempted to discredit Goldberg even as she acknowledged that he was accidentally included in the thread, suggesting that he had exaggerated or spun the contents of the group chat.
10:24 a.m.
Intelligence officials defend their actions on Signal
Gabbard, Ratcliff: ‘No classified’ information was shared
1:24
(The Washington Post)
In their first public comments at a previously scheduled Senate hearing on national security, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe said that the information shared on the Signal group was not classified. Ratcliffe told Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-Virginia) in a heated exchange that his communications “were entirely permissible and lawful.”
11:43 a.m.
Gabbard and Ratcliffe say they cannot recall certain details from chat
Gabbard, Ratcliffe ‘don’t recall’ Signal chat specifics
1:09
(The Washington Post)
In the same Senate hearing, Gabbard and Ratcliffe said they were unable to recall specific details from the conversation, including whether certain targets were mentioned in Yemen or whether a specific weapon or weapon systems had been mentioned.
12:25 p.m.
White House alleges a ‘coordinated effort’ to distract from Trump’s agenda
The White House issued a press release accusing Trump’s perceived enemies of undertaking an organized distraction effort. Trump’s team again stressed the success of the attack, implying that it was more important than scrutiny over the Signal chat.
1:02 p.m.
Congressional Republicans post messages of support
As calls grew from Democrats for Waltz or Hegseth to resign, Republicans began posting online declarations of support for the Cabinet officials.
1:03 p.m.
Top Trump spokesman says ‘enemies of America’ are spreading ‘lies’ about chat
1:15 p.m.
Trump envoy argues focus should be on ‘going after terrorists’
3:02 p.m.
In meeting with Trump and U.S. ambassadors, Waltz attacks Goldberg’s credibility
“There’s a lot of journalists in this city who have made big names for themselves making up lies about this president.”
— Waltz, at meeting with Trump and U.S. ambassadors
Taking questions from reporters with Trump, Waltz implied that Goldberg might have been lying and accused him of wanting people to talk about “hoaxes.” Trump also suggested the story gave the Atlantic publicity and said of Goldberg: “The person that was on just happens to be a sleazebag. So maybe that’s just coincidence, I don’t know.”
3:07 p.m.
Trump says no classified information shared
Trump on Signal chat: ‘It wasn’t classified’
0:45
(The Washington Post)
In the same meeting, Trump told reporters there was no classified information in the chat, though he later said the military may not want to release the texts. He repeatedly touted the success of the attack, voiced confidence in Waltz and dismissed concerns over the security breach. He also suggested his opponents want to distract from his success, saying, “They’ve made a big deal out of this because we’ve had two perfect months.”
3:12 p.m.
Trump says Waltz doesn’t need to apologize, breach of chat is ‘just something that can happen’
Trump: Waltz is ‘doing his best’ despite Signal leak
0:46
(The Washington Post)
“It can happen. Sometimes people are hooked in and you don’t know they’re hooked in, they’re hooked into your line, and they don’t even mean bad by it. But it’s not a perfect technology. There is no perfect technology.”
— Trump, responding to a question about whether the investigation into the group chat could result in firing anyone
7:04 p.m.
Waltz takes responsibility for chat
“I’m not a conspiracy theorist, but of all the people out there, somehow this guy who has lied about the president … he’s the one that somehow gets on somebody’s contact and then gets sucked into this group.”
— Waltz, speaking to Laura Ingraham on Fox News
On Fox News, Waltz suggested that Goldberg has peddled what Trump deems “the Russia hoax” and other alleged lies about Trump, saying he “hates the president.” But he said he took responsibility for the group chat, saying: “I built the group.”
7:06 p.m.
Waltz says Goldberg’s number was saved under someone else’s name
“Have you ever had somebody’s contact that shows their name and then you have somebody else’s number there? You’ve got somebody else’s number on someone else’s contact, so of course I didn’t see this loser in the group. It looked like someone else. Now whether he did it deliberately or it happened in some other technical mean is something we are trying to figure out.”
— Waltz, in the Fox News interview
Waltz also said a staffer had not added Goldberg, which Trump had said the day before.
11:14 p.m.
Hegseth offers another denial
“Nobody’s texting war plans. I know exactly what I’m doing … exactly what we’re directing, and really proud of what we accomplished — successful missions that night and going forward.”
— Hegseth, speaking to reporters in Hawaii
March 26
Following the administration’s Tuesday claims that the information did not contain “war plans,” the Atlantic published the full chat Wednesday, showing that it had included a list of upcoming attacks and the weapons the U.S. planned to use. The White House latched onto the Atlantic’s use of “attack plans” in the headline instead of “war plans,” arguing it meant what was discussed was permissible. National security experts have said such information should likely have been classified and not discussed on Signal.
Trump’s allies also argued that concerns about the chat were exaggerated and that its contents were innocuous, doubling down on the idea that Goldberg’s reporting that the chat contained military plans was a hoax.
8:21 a.m.
The Atlantic publishes full Signal chat
The Atlantic initially did not publish any texts related to weapons or the timing of attacks, but following the Trump administration’s efforts to discredit Goldberg’s reporting, the magazine decided to publish all the texts Goldberg received, saying, “People should see the texts in order to reach their own conclusions.” The screenshots showed Hegseth listing upcoming strikes.
Pete Hegseth
11:44am
TEAM UPDATE:
TIME NOW (1144et): Weather is FAVORABLE. Just CONFIRMED w/CENTCOM we are a GO for mission launch. Centcom, or Central Command, is the military’s combatant command for the Middle East.
1215et: F-18s LAUNCH (1st strike package)
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)
1410: More F-18s LAUNCH (2nd strike package)
1415: Strike Drones on Target (THIS IS WHEN THE FIRST BOMBS WILL DEFINITELY DROP, pending earlier ‘Trigger Based’ targets)
1536 F-18 2nd Strike Starts – also, first sea-based Tomahawks launched.
MORE TO FOLLOW (per timeline)
We are currently clean on OPSEC—that is, operational security.
Godspeed to our Warriors.
8:35 a.m.
White House aide alleges Atlantic’s ‘attack plans’ headline proves ‘they LIED.’
8:38 a.m.
More White House officials respond
“The Atlantic has conceded: these were NOT ‘war plans.’ This entire story was another hoax written by a Trump-hater who is well-known for his sensationalist spin.”
— Leavitt, on X
8:53 a.m.
“The Atlantic beclowns itself as they concede— by releasing this— that no “war planning” was going on as they had falsely alleged.”
— White House communications director Steven Cheung, on X
9:24 a.m.
“It’s very clear Goldberg oversold what he had.”
— Vice President JD Vance, who participated in the group chat, suggested on X that the Atlantic had exaggerated
9:31 a.m.
11:18 a.m.
Gabbard says no classified information shared, use of Signal OK
Gabbard: ‘No classified’ information shared in Signal chat
2:04
(House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence)
“Ideally these conversations occur in person. However at times, fast-moving coordination of an unclassified nature is necessary or in-person conversation is not an option.”
— Gabbard, in a House intelligence hearing
At a scheduled House hearing, Gabbard said it was a mistake that a journalist was added to the message app, but argued that the Signal app comes preinstalled on government devices and is designed to be used to have these kinds of conversations. She said that no classified information was shared.
12:03 p.m.
FBI director declines to say if the FBI should investigate
“I’m not going to comment on that.”
— FBI Director Kash Patel, in House hearing
1:14 p.m.
In White House briefing, Leavitt contends story is ‘falling apart by the hour’
Leavitt: Signal chat reporting a ‘misinformation campaign’
1:08
(The Washington Post)
“We have said all along that no classified material was sent on this messaging thread. There were no locations, no sources or methods revealed, and there were certainly no war plans discussed.”
— Leavitt, at a White House press briefing
At the first White House press briefing since the story broke, Leavitt claimed the Atlantic’s release of the texts proved the chat was unobjectionable, and she referred to the incident as “this Signal hoax.” Asked whether the texts laying out when a series of attacks would occur and what weapons would be used constituted military plans, Leavitt called them a policy discussion. She repeated the arguments that the “real story” was the success of the Yemen strikes and that Goldberg is an “anti-Trump hater.”
1:18 p.m.
Leavitt claims it was a misinformation campaign by Democrats
“If this story proves anything, it proves that Democrats and their propagandists and the mainstream media know how to fabricate, orchestrate and disseminate a misinformation campaign quite well. And there’s arguably no one in the media who loves manufacturing and pushing hoaxes more than Jeffrey Goldberg.”
— Leavitt, in a White House press briefing
1:35 p.m.
Secretary of state says a ‘big mistake’ was made, reforms will be put in place
Rubio on Signal chat: ‘Someone made a big mistake’
2:12
(The Washington Post)
2:07 p.m.
Hegseth says chat transcript ‘doesn’t look like war plans’
“There’s no units, no locations, no routes, no flight paths, no sources, no methods, no classified information.”
— Hegseth, talking to reporters before leaving Hawaii
5:30 p.m.
Trump distances himself from Signal chat, decries scrutiny as ‘witch hunt’
“I wasn’t involved with it. I wasn’t there.”
— Trump, to reporters in an Oval office press briefing on tariffs
Trump, speaking to reporters after making a tariffs announcement, expressed support for Hegseth, celebrated the success of the Yemen attack, questioned whether Signal’s technology was defective and attacked the press coverage as a “witch hunt.”