President Donald Trump defended his national security team and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, in particular, on Wednesday amid the fallout from the Signal messaging app scandal.
On Monday, the Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg reported that he was inadvertently added to a Signal group chat by national security adviser Mike Waltz earlier this month. Vice President JD Vance, Hegseth, and the bulk of the president’s Cabinet were also group chat participants, where they actively discussed and planned for Trump’s airstrikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen.
FIVE CONTROVERSIES SURROUNDING HEGSETH SINCE HE WAS CONFIRMED
Goldberg would go on to publish screenshots of the conversation on Wednesday after White House officials insisted that the information discussed was not classified.
Goldberg’s screenshots specifically showed Hegseth outlining the sequencing of the strikes to the group and Waltz giving operational updates after the attack was launched, leading a growing chorus of voices on the Left to call for Hegseth, Waltz, or the pair, to resign. Others including Barstool Sports’ Dave Portnoy and media personality Piers Morgan have called for firings.
Trump was asked by reporters Wednesday evening if Hegseth should “consider” quitting, but the president responded by claiming the Defense Secretary was not involved with the group chat.
“Hegseth is doing a great job. He had nothing to do with this,” he declared. “How do you bring Hegseth into it? He had nothing to do with it. Look, it’s all a witch hunt.”
Trump gave a similar defense of Waltz the day prior, telling reporters there was no reason for the national security advisor to “apologize” for using a technology approved for certain kinds, but not all, government communication.
TRUMP SAYS WALTZ DOESN’T NEED TO ‘APOLOGIZE’ FOR SIGNAL SCANDAL
You can watch Trump’s comments in full below.