Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth blasted The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg for falsely claiming sensitive war plans were leaked through a Signal chat and stated that he was ‘a guy who peddles in garbage.’
See the video below.
Hegseth firmly stated, “Nobody was texting war plans” and called the leftist publication’s allegations “garbage.”
“This is a guy who peddles in garbage,” Hegseth stated, referring to Goldberg and The Atlantic’s history of publishing anti-Trump stories with questionable sourcing.
During a press conference in Hawaii, Hegseth forcefully denied allegations that appeared in The Atlantic claiming officials had accidentally included editor Jeffrey Goldberg in a Signal chat containing sensitive military information about strikes on Yemen.
The Defense Secretary did not hesitate to slam the journalist when addressing these serious accusations.
“Nobody was texting war plans,” Hegseth declared firmly, putting to rest any notion that the administration had compromised classified information.
This direct denial contradicts Goldberg’s claim that he was mistakenly added to a Signal chat where top officials allegedly discussed military strikes against Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen.
Hegseth went further in his condemnation of The Atlantic’s reporting, characterizing Goldberg as “a deceitful and highly discredited so-called journalist who’s made a profession of peddling hoaxes time and time again.”
The alleged chat reportedly included several administration officials, such as Vice President JD Vance, national security adviser Mike Waltz, and CIA Director John Ratcliffe.
While National Security Council spokesperson Brian Hughes confirmed the chat’s existence, he emphasized it contained no information that threatened troops or national security – directly contradicting The Atlantic’s inflammatory suggestions.
When asked about the situation, President Trump expressed his own skepticism about the publication’s motives.
“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. It’s not much of a magazine. But I know nothing about it,” he claimed.
Democrats, still unable to accept the Trump administration’s foreign policy successes, have attempted to use this non-story to create a false equivalence with Hillary Clinton’s actual mishandling of classified information through her private email server.
Representative Seth Moulton (D-MA) has already tried to paint this as a security concern, despite confirmation that no actual war plans were shared.
The timing of this attack on Hegseth is particularly suspect, coming just as the administration has successfully demonstrated American military might against terrorist threats in the Middle East.
The Defense Department has maintained that no classified information was compromised, and Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell declined further comment on the manufactured controversy.
Meanwhile, Hegseth continues to focus on strengthening America’s military and strategic position rather than engaging with baseless media attacks.
This incident represents yet another example of the liberal media’s willingness to publish misleading information in their ongoing campaign against the Trump administration and its America First policies.
Despite these distractions, Secretary Hegseth and the Defense Department remain committed to protecting American interests and strengthening national security.
