'Somebody has to go down': Trump allies take aim at Michael Waltz

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: NBC News

March 26, 2025, 8:55 PM EDT


A growing number of Donald Trump’s allies are calling on the president to fire his national security adviser, Michael Waltz, to try to mitigate the political fallout from revelations that the nation’s top defense officials discussed sensitive military operations in a commercial app — and inadvertently included a journalist in their chat group.

According to screenshots published by The Atlantic, a Signal user named “Michael Waltz” initially invited Jeffrey Goldberg, the magazine’s editor in chief, into the conversation on the app Signal. The group, according to The Atlantic, appears to have included Vice President JD Vance, several other members of the Cabinet involved in national security issues, Trump chief of staff Susie Wiles and deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller. Some of the people were identified only by their initials.

Trump and his aides have insisted that none of the information about strikes against Yemeni Houthis — a group the United States has designated as a foreign terrorist organization — was classified when Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared it with the group.

On Wednesday, however, Trump was less definitive. "That’s what I’ve heard. I don’t know. I’m not sure. You have to ask the various people involved. I really don’t know," Trump replied when reporters asked him whether still believes nothing classified was shared.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/trump-allies-take-aim-michael-waltz-rcna198289

[C_U_L8R]

1. They blame the guy who got them caught

When none of them should have been on Signal in the first place. And what have they done to ensure the country that they are never on Signal or other covert messaging platform or burner device again?

[femmedem]

2. Exactly right. Everyone who didn't object is culpable and unqualified. n/t

[Bengus81]

11. Maybe they could get MS to reopen Skype just for those dipshits

That's really,really secure.........

[AllaN01Bear]

19. lie. cheat steal.distract and go sputter sputt sputt. sigh for more years of ths . ugh.

[blue-wave]

37. Spot on!!!!!!

Every high ranking holder with national security clearance, who have a duty to protect us all, know better. Not one of them should have been in that chat.

[wyn borkins]

3. Why Bother

Simply based upon the massive administration obfuscation thus far, why not let the entire fiasco simply slide (as is) directly into the history books.

Implicate no one (as in, move along, nothing to see here).

[Ray Bruns]

4. No. It has to be Rubio. I got fifty bucks riding on him being out the door first.

[Bengus81]

12. I'm thinking little blondie doing the WH pressers. It will be fun to watch as Trump

starts throwing his ass kissing loyalists under the bus.

[Baitball Blogger]

5. Most definitely, somebody has to go.

And Tulsi and Ratcliffe need to face perjury charges, because the next time might not be as clear as this one was.

[Hugin]

7. Which Senate confirmed Secretary wasn't on the call?

The non-participant always gets the fishing trip in the cheesy mob flicks.

[magicarpet]

6. Didn't Project 2025 specifically mention,...

... tha alternate avenues of communication should be used by Team trDUMP,... like the signal app.
This scheme was encouraged as a method for Team trDUMP to avoid any future FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) & PRA (Presidential Records Act requests to see the day to day documents about the workings of our government.

The Heritage Foundation recommended the use of unclassified public internet applications such as Signal for their internal communications. Being that Signal has an expiration mode where the communication can be made to poof disappear from any records of having ever happened because the communications electronically erase and disappear on a preset expiration/ erase time clock preset by the communicans. Thus no record of the comminication exists or records of action taken any longer exists.

Try making a FOIA request for something that does not exist. You get zip,.. zero,... and zilch. Just what The Heritage Foundation wanted - presidential secrecy behind a three foot thick stone wall. No transparency,.. no oversite,... and no public input or review. Bye bye American Democracy,... hello drowning in chest deep Fascism.

■○■○■○■○

If the documents don't exist the crime never happened. Just erase your fingerprints and footprints from the scene of the crime,.. then you are golden.


The Presidential Records Act (PRA; 44 U.S.C. §§2201-2209) set forth requirements regarding the maintenance, access, and preservation of presidential and vice presidential information during and after a presidency.

[Hugin]

9. This harkens back to the disappearing Secret Service texts on Jan 6th...

Remember those? Yeah, nobody does.

[neohippie]

10. Also the Federal Records Act too

Violates the Federal Records Act as well 44 U.S.C Chapter 31

The Federal Records Act (FRA), enacted in 1950 and codified in 44 U.S.C. Chapter 31, establishes the framework for federal records management, requiring agencies to create, maintain, and dispose of records accurately and efficiently, ensuring the preservation of vital historical, fiscal, and legal information for public access and accountability

[louis-t]

23. All the while, saying they have 'the most transparent

administration in the history of the world'.

[IronLionZion]

8. No mention of them stopping use of Signal

so it looks like they'll throw Michael Waltz under the bus since he's the main screw up for this incident. But really they need to stop using Signal.

[johnnyfins]

13. You're the fing President

"I don't know" is not an answer. WTF?

[YodaMom2]

17. That's always been his go-to.

If it makes him look bad, he doesn’t know anything about it. If he thinks it makes him look good, he knows *everything* about, more than anyone else. (Remember “I know more than the generals”?)

[Dulcinea]

14. Hegseth should take the fall.

But I doubt he will. This loser's in waaayyy over his head, & he knows it.

[Historic NY]

15. circular firing squad

[Renew Deal]

16. And saying it's not classified allows the reporter to release it.

[BumRushDaShow]

20. I suppose they didn't think he would

But now they are in a quandary about going on and filing suit against The Atlantic for (allegedly) "releasing 'classified information'" (in quotes) and how they "should have known".

[patphil]

18. It's my belief that Jeff Goldberg was deliberately put on the list for this Signal chat.

I think it was done to blow the lid off the whole idea of using Signal as a means of covert communication between high ranking Administration officials. I'm sure Signal is used all the time by these people to prevent any permanent record of their conversations from being made. Project 2025 suggested this means of covert communication.
We know it's not an accident. The idea of Mr Goldberg, senior editor of The Atlantic, being invited to this sensitive chat group by mistake is simply ridiculous.
Look to see if any member(s) of the chat group get fired. That might be an indicator of who it was. I understand there were actually 19 members of the group, but I don't think the identities of all of them have been revealed.
This is a much bigger scandal than anything Hillary Clinton was excoriated for.

[louis-t]

25. "Not an accident"? You're assuming they're not really that stupid.

But in fact, they really, really are that stupid.

[patphil]

38. Of all the people in the United States, they chose someone who was both in a position to and had the inclination...

to blow the whistle on their operation.
There is no chance this was an accident. None!
This wasn't more of the same stupid we've been seeing in the Trump Administration.

This was deliberate.

[orangecrush]

30. That thought exactly

.crossed my mind not long after the story broke.

Somebody was fed up with their shit.

[bronxiteforever]

21. Typical GOP response to a problem. Eating their own.

[louis-t]

22. They will throw someone under the bus, blame him/her for everything

then it will be back to business as usual. Protect der fuhrer at all cost. Rape, pillage, plunder.

[Deminpenn]

24. Today, Waltz; tomorrow Hegseth

Dems can't be satisfied with just one person fired or resigning. It has to be the whole nest of them.

[Docreed2003]

26. Firing the guy who invited the journalist

While ignoring the fact that USING THE DAMN APP IN THE FIRST PLACE IS A HUGE BREWCH OF OPSEC, is absolutely infuriating and sadly, this kind of crap is on brand for Trump.

[bmichaelh]

27. The Long Run

Problem with this strategy in the long run is that there will be a lot of replacements because there will be many scandals in part due to incompetence and malevolence.

[Rebl2]

28. Of course

they will go after him

[sakabatou]

29. "We need fall guys... Make sure my team is full of them!" -Dump, probably

[NoMoreRepugs]

31. When u fill the bus with MORONIC CLOWNS what the FUCK do you expect??

[thought crime]

32. "Cocktail of Incompetence" - Jim Himes (D-CT)

I doubt anyone will take the fall. They will just stonewall / gaslight until the press moves on to the next distraction. But it’s certainly a big mask-off moment. Trump has surrounded himself with another cast of clowns like the ones he did before Jan 6.

No one selected by trump can be taken seriously.

[Montauk6]

33. Yeah but why?

According to Fox News, everything is fine and Hunter Biden's laptop. PIZZA-PIZZA!!

[AdamGG]

34. The problem is

that they'll drop Waltz for being dufus enough to add the Atlantic editor, and the fact that the Dump administration has moved wholesale to using private apps rather than government communication systems to avoid accountability will get largely overlooked.

[Karasu]

35. I figured he'd be their chosen fall guy, but this is woefully insufficient. EVERYONE in that chat needs to fucking go.

And they know as much, but refuse to entertain the thought.

[poozwah]

36. appropriate

going down to get a job usually end up this way.

[COL Mustard]

39. There's blood in the water and the sharks are circling.

It kind of reminds me of all those scandals during Obama's terms, or during Biden's term. You know, like......well, maybe nothing.

[johnnyfins]

40. Has anyone considered that a Waltz

Underling added Jeffrey Goldberg to the chat because he/she hates the admin amd disagrees with all of the chaos?

[BGRD]

41. Just a suggestion

Most likely it was a screw-up by these right wing "MERIT hires" ??? from the from the right wing special needs college. Just a suggestion but did they invite the wrong Goldberg to the "chat". I just wonder if they confused Jeffrey Goldberg from the Atlantic and Jonah Goldberg the right wing political pundit from National Review.