Donald Trump Jr’s attempt to smear The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg was swiftly shot down in the fallout of the Signalgate national security scandal.
Embattled Republicans scrambled to downplay the severity of the breach after Goldberg’s explosive report detailed how White House National Security adviser Mike Waltz mistakenly invited him to an encrypted chat where top officials discussed an impending U.S. strike in Yemen.
Hours before President Trump attempted to shift the blame to an unidentified “lower level” White House employee, his eldest son targeted Golberg on X.
“Why doesn't Jeffrey Goldberg disclose to readers in his stories that he is a registered Democrat?,” Don Jr. tweeted on Tuesday afternoon. “His wife also worked for Hillary Clinton and has donated nearly $25k to Democrats.”
The political scion faced backlash for his attempt to discredit The Atlantic journalist, leaving social media users asking why a registered Democrat was added to the insecure channel in the first place.
“Isn’t it even *worse* that top Cabinet officials added a registered Democrat to their war plan chat on an unsecured app?,” Brian Tyler Cohen, a progressive YouTube creator and MSNBC contributor, said.
“Great question, Don,” another X user replied. “Why did Pete Hegseth share classified military intelligence with a registered Democrat in an unsecured Signal chat.”
“So the Trump administration is talking about classified information on a commercial app on their private phones — and they added a registered democrat to the conversation without noticing it?,” a third added.”
“And you blame the registered democrat [sic]? Nice job!”
The 18 national security and cabinet officials in the “Houthi PC small group” chat—including the likes of Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio—have been sharply criticized for the security lapse by pundits and politicians from both sides of the aisle.
Goldberg wrote that Waltz invited him to connect on Signal on March 11. The journalist said he was added to the group two days later and no one appeared alarmed—or even aware—about a mysterious interloper being in the chat.
In his report, Goldberg revealed how he unwittingly was able to get front-row seats as Trump’s team began outlining their plans to bomb the Houthis in Yemen on March 15.
Some House Democrats are calling for the most severe repercussions against officials involved in the “outrageous” security breach, including Pennsylvania Representative Chris Deluzio who stated that “heads should roll.”
Former House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi called the leak the most “horrifying incompetence,” while embattled Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said the officials are “clearly not up to the job.”
Several House Republicans have also condemned those on the Signal group, including Nebraska Representative Don Bacon who speculated that “Russia and China are surely monitoring his unclassified phone.”
Other MAGA Republicans and Trump allies, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Fox News host Sean Hannity have tried to deflect the criticism.
The Department of Government Efficiency lead speculated that official government channels weren’t used because they are “shockingly primitive.”
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