US President Donald Trump came close to dismissing National Security Adviser Mike Waltz—not for revealing American military strategy in Yemen, but for having The Atlantic’s editor, Jeffrey Goldberg, saved as a contact on his phone. President Trump, famous for his deep distrust of some media outlets, was less disturbed by the incidental Signal group reveal and more by what he perceived as a disloyal connection.
Ultimately, he decided not to pull Mike Waltz so as not to give a perceived victory to the media. But the strange turn of events provides insight into how Trump’s White House perceives loyalty, media, and national security.
The Real Issue Was Loyalty of Mike Waltz
Even though the leak was serious—the classified Yemen war plans were exchanged in a group chat accidentally sent to Jeffrey Goldberg—Trump’s rage was elsewhere. Trump was less interested in the national security consequences and more in optics, according to insiders. Jeffrey Goldberg, whom Trump publicly lambasted for years, represented media bias to the former President. The fact that Mike Waltz possessed Goldberg’s number made President Trump doubt his adviser’s loyalty.
The number, though, ended up in Mike Waltz’s phone months before in an automated error. A spokesperson during the 2024 campaign sent an email from Jeffrey Goldberg—along with his contact information—to Mike Waltz. iPhone’s contact merging function confused it with another number and saved it. Mike Waltz, not knowing, inadvertently added Goldberg to a Signal group named “Houthi PC small group” while trying to add a staff member. That one move prompted a White House investigation.
White House Presses On, But Tech and Trust Collide
Police officials soon determined that there was no real communication between Waltz and Jeffery Goldberg. Nevertheless, the incident revealed weaknesses in the use of personal devices by senior officials for official work. Waltz subsequently explained that he never spoke to Goldberg and attributed the failure to Apple’s contact-sync capabilities.
While Trump did not dismiss Mike Waltz, the incident illustrates how trust, rather than policy, dictates survival in Trump’s orbit. As tensions for the 2024 elections persist, these tales demonstrate the tenuous convergence of technological missteps, politics of loyalty, and global strategy.
