Hours after the so-called Signalgate scandal broke, as the political world came to terms with the White House’s national security debacle, Politico published a report that raised a few eyebrows. “The stunning revelation that top administration officials accidentally included a reporter in a group chat discussing war plans triggered furious discussion inside the White House that national security adviser Mike Waltz may need to be forced out,” the article read.
Politico even quoted a source close to the White House who was rather blunt in assessing the controversial national security adviser: “Everyone in the White House can agree on one thing: Mike Waltz is a f—ing idiot.”
The broader question quickly came into focus: Would Donald Trump, who’s had some trouble with his national security advisers, agree to show Waltz the door? At least for now, as NBC News reported, the former congressman has the president’s backing.
President Donald Trump stood by his national security adviser, Mike Waltz, after The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief was accidentally added to a private, high-level chat on the messaging app Signal where military plans were being discussed. “Michael Waltz has learned a lesson, and he’s a good man,” Trump said Tuesday in a phone interview with NBC News.
Implicit in the comments, of course, was a rare acknowledgement of wrongdoing: The president didn’t say, “Waltz did nothing wrong; the whole scandal is an elaborate hoax cooked up by the fake news media, which is why I’ve decided to sue The Atlantic.” Rather, the Republican said his beleaguered White House national security adviser has “learned a lesson.”
Implicit in the comments was a concession of sorts — Waltz did something wrong — which didn’t do any favors to those who responded to the bombshell reporting by pretending the revelations were meaningless.
Of course, the president wasn’t the only voice in his party addressing the burgeoning controversy. A great many Republicans weighed in, though the GOP didn’t exactly speak with one voice.
Some Republicans peddled tiresome and lazy hackery: Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri appeared on Fox News and said “the leftist media” has been reduced to “griping about who’s on a text message.”
Some Republicans were indifferent to the revelations: After Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was caught in a lie, Rep. Dan Crenshaw of Texas said he was prepared to take the Pentagon chief “at his word,” adding: “We gotta move on.”
Some Republicans generally acknowledged the controversy: “Sounds like a huge screwup. I mean, is there any other way to describe it?” Sen. John Cornyn of Texas told reporters. “I don’t think you should use Signal for classified information.” Sen. Tim Sheehy of Montana added, “Somebody f—ed up.”
Rep. Austin Scott of Georgia, who serves on the House Intelligence Committee, told Punchbowl the breach “shouldn’t have happened.”
Some Republicans relied on a memorable passive-voice phrase: Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, told reporters, “It’s definitely a concern, and it appears that mistakes were made.” Some Republican voices in media scrambled to pretend the scandal was unimportant: Fox News’ Sean Hannity complained about independent news organizations covering the controversy, while his colleague Jesse Waters suggested that unrelated Democratic incidents were worse. The Republican who always expresses concern expressed concern: Sen. Susan Collins of Maine described the scandal as “extremely troubling and serious.” As for what, if anything, GOP officials are actually prepared to do in the wake of the revelations, Rep. Brian Mast of Florida, who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee, rejected the need for a congressional investigation and said he expects Team Trump to investigate itself. “The White House should take care of it,” Mast said. Wicker, however, told The New York Times, “There are always two sides to the story, but it’s a concern. Definitely we’ll be looking into it.” Watch this space.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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