Criticism, theories and few explanations: Reactions to the published messages from Trump's cabinet on the war in Yemen

After journalist Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic magazine published an article explaining how he was added to a Signal group where senior Trump administration officials were discussing an upcoming attack against the Houthis in Yemen, Democrats, Republicans and opinion leaders began publishing their reactions to the unusual situation, which filled the front pages of the country's mainstream media.

Democrats, in particular, launched a general angry reaction, showing incredulity or harshly questioning Trump's cabinet for inoperativeness and irresponsibility.

"You have got to be kidding me," former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton tweeted on X.

Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg joined in the criticism: "From an operational security perspective, this is the highest level of fuckup imaginable. These people cannot keep America safe."

Andy Kim, a Democratic senator from New Jersey, called for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's resignation after The Atlantic published the messages seen by Goldberg: "It would be an episode of Veep if it wasn’t so dangerous and just plain dumb. Really dumb and epically irresponsible. People need to lose their jobs over this. Preferably Hegseth."

Tim Waltz, former vice presidential candidate, also took direct aim at the defense secretary.

"Pete Hegseth texting out war plans like invites to a frat party," Waltz wrote.

In the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, a former Democratic leader, joined Kim's call for accountability: "In my 30 years of experience working with the Intelligence Community, I have never before seen such horrifying incompetence in the securing of our nation’s intelligence. How dare they put our Troops at risk with this cavalier behavior. There must be accountability."

In a report recounting how he was mistakenly added to the Signal group, Goldberg explained that 18 other members were included in the group, including National Security Adviser Michael Waltz (who added the journalist by mistake), Vice President J. D. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles.

According to Goldberg, the Signal chat, "Houthi PC Small Group," discussed the possibility of attacking the Houthis. This Iranian-backed terrorist group has attacked commercial ships in the Red Sea for months, disrupting traffic through the crucial Suez Canal.

The journalist also claimed that the day after being added, Hegseth posted sensitive information in the chat group, including operational details of alleged future attacks. Goldberg said he would not publish the details but wrote that an enemy of the U.S. could have obtained the information, which would have endangered U.S. troops or officials.

"No one published about war plans"

While Democrats called for heads to roll after the leak, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters that Goldberg lied and no information was sent about a future war with the Houthis.

"Nobody was texting war plans & that's all I have to say about that," the defense secretary, who further discredited Goldberg on camera, said. 

When asked about the situation, President Donald Trump claimed he knew nothing about the messages and responded by stating that The Atlantic is a magazine in crisis.

"I don’t know anything about it. I’m not a big fan of the Atlantic," Trump told a reporter. "To me, it's a magazine that’s going out of business. I think it’s not much of a magazine, but I know nothing about it."

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt downplayed the significance of the issue.

"As President Trump said, the attacks on the Houthis have been highly successful and effective. President Trump continues to have the utmost confidence in his national security team, including National Security Advisor Mike Waltz."

In addition, a spokesman for the National Security Council (NSC) acknowledged the leak to Fox News Digital: "This appears to be an authentic message chain, and we are reviewing how an inadvertent number was added to the chain (...) The thread is a demonstration of the deep and thoughtful policy coordination between senior officials. The ongoing success of the Houthi operation demonstrates that there were no threats to troops or national security."

Beyond the White House's public endorsement of Waltz, however, a report from Politico revealed that the National Security adviser's future is in serious doubt, with multiple alleged White House officials stating under anonymity that the former deputy should be fired for his mistake.

A deliberate mistake?

While Waltz's future remains uncertain, various X opinion leaders argued that adding Goldberg to the chat may have been an intentional mistake, seeking to send a hidden message to European leaders to take greater initiative on the conflict with the Houthis in the Red Sea.

"It seems more and more likely that the Atlantic leak of the Signal texts from the Trump administration was intentionally designed to send a message to European leadership and signal (pun intended) to them what America expects out of Europe for cleaning out the rats nest in the Red Sea," conservative influencer Ian Miles Cheong wrote on X. "It’s all very deliberate and they wouldn’t have just made a special chat room to talk about a single strike."

Other users added to the speculation, adding a new theory to one of the most surprising and unique Intelligence news stories in recent years.