President Donald Trump said on March 25 that government officials likely will not be using the Signal messaging app after The Atlantic magazine’s editor-in-chief was inadvertently included in a group chat with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and national security adviser Mike Waltz.
When asked about the Signal chat during remarks at the White House on March 25, Trump said: “A lot of times you find out defects by exactly things like that, but I don’t think it’s something we’re looking forward to using again.
“We may be forced to use it. You may be in a situation where you need speed as opposed to gross safety, and you may be forced to use it, but generally speaking, I think we probably won’t be using it very much.”
The fallout came after Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, alleged that he saw a discussion between Hegseth and other officials take place in a group chat he was added to in the Signal messaging app hours before strikes against Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen ordered by Trump earlier this month.
The National Security Council has since said the text chain Goldberg reported “appears to be authentic” and that it is looking into how a journalist’s number was added to the chain.
Hegseth spoke to reporters in Hawaii on March 24 and disputed Goldberg’s account, insisting that no war plans were texted in the chat. He also raised questions about Goldberg’s credibility. Goldberg, who published an article in The Atlantic about the group chat, later told MSNBC that his article was based on what he saw in the Signal chat. He accused Hegseth of trying to deflect from the allegations.
Signal uses end-to-end encryption for its messaging and calling services, which prevents any third party from viewing conversation content or listening in on calls. It is considered a popular app for direct messaging, group chats, phone calls, and video calls.
When asked about the use of the chat app, Trump said he “wasn’t involved” but only “heard about it.”
“I hear it’s used by a lot of groups,” he said. “It’s used by the media a lot. It’s used by a lot of the military and, I think, successfully, but sometimes somebody can get onto those things.
“That’s one of the prices you pay when you’re not sitting in the Situation Room with no phones on, which is always the best, frankly ... the best is to be there.”
“They’ve made a big deal out of this because we’ve had two perfect months,” Trump said, pivoting to the economy and policies he has initiated since taking office in January. “We’re bringing in business; we have another one announced tomorrow.”
After the recent reports, the president of Signal defended the app, although she did not directly address The Atlantic article.
