How did The Atlantic’s editor, Jeffrey Goldberg, end up in a Signal chat discussing US strikes against the Houthis in Yemen?
The mistake traces back to Mike Waltz, Donald Trump’s national security adviser, but actually happened months ago, according to three White House sources speaking to The Guardian. It dates to when Waltz mistakenly saved Goldberg’s number instead of that of a Trump campaign spokesperson. The White House’s internal investigation revealed a chain of errors starting during the 2024 election campaign: an email from Goldberg, copied and pasted by a spokesperson into a message sent to Waltz, led Waltz’s iPhone to automatically save the wrong number.
Trump, reportedly more furious about the involvement of a media outlet he despises than about the actual leak, seriously considered firing Waltz, the sources say. Ultimately, though, he decided against it — not wanting to hand The Atlantic and the media, the satisfaction of a high-profile dismissal.
The mistake went unnoticed until March, when Waltz created a Signal group chat called “Houthi PC small group” and, thinking he was adding the spokesperson, instead added Goldberg.
Waltz claimed after the incident that he had never met or spoken to Goldberg. Speaking to Fox News, he suggested the number had been “sucked” into his phone — referring to the automatic save function on iPhones.
The internal investigation did not clarify whether Waltz and Goldberg had any further contact. Reached by phone on Saturday, Goldberg said: “I’m not going to comment on my relationship with Mike Waltz beyond saying I do know him and have spoken to him”.
Trump was briefed on the internal review last week and accepted Waltz’s explanation, publicly standing by him since the Signal mishap surfaced. On Thursday, Trump appeared in public alongside chief of staff Susie Wiles, personnel chief Sergio Gor, and Waltz himself — seen as a clear show of support.
According to the Guardian sources, Waltz also has backing inside the White House because the use of Signal — despite being an unclassified messaging system — had been officially authorized in the absence of a better alternative for real-time secure communication between administration agencies. The Biden administration, the sources remarked, also failed to develop a replacement platform.
