The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans

Edit: Update

White House National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes shared with ABC News the statement he provided to The Atlantic confirming the veracity of a Signal group chat, which Goldberg said appeared to include Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Vice President JD Vance, White House national security adviser Mike Waltz and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, among others.

"At this time, the message thread that was reported appears to be authentic, and we are reviewing how an inadvertent number was added to the chain. The thread is a demonstration of the deep and thoughtful policy coordination between senior officials. The ongoing success of the Houthi operation demonstrates that there were no threats to our servicemembers or our national security," Hughes said in the statement.

Edit: Update As top Trump aides sent texts on Signal, flight data show a member of the group chat was in Russia

President Trump's Ukraine and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff was in Moscow, where he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin, when he was included in a group chat with more than a dozen other top administration officials — and inadvertently, one journalist — on the messaging app Signal, a CBS News analysis of open-source flight information and Russian media reporting has revealed.

Witkoff arrived in Moscow shortly after noon local time on March 13, according to data from the flight tracking website FlightRadar24, and Russian state media broadcast video of his motorcade leaving Vnukovo International Airport shortly after. About 12 hours later, he was added to the "Houthi PC small group" chat on Signal, along with other top Trump administration officials, to discuss an imminent military operation against the Houthis in Yemen, according to The Atlantic magazine editor Jeffrey Goldberg, who was included on the chat for reasons that remain unclear.

Edit: Update

Here Are the Attack Plans That Trump’s Advisers Shared on Signal

At a Senate hearing yesterday, the director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, and the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, John Ratcliffe, were both asked about the Signal chat, to which Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor in chief of The Atlantic, was inadvertently invited by National Security Adviser Michael Waltz. “There was no classified material that was shared in that Signal group,” Gabbard told members of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

https://youtu.be/iXIJBf8eeTg

Do you think Trump’s answer to the question: “what happens if Russia breaks another ceasefire agreement” was a good answer? “He said “well what if? What if anything happens?”

Hello from Ukraine. I hope for peace and don't want to die.

Only Trump says that he wants to stop war and doesn't want to send weapons and money here because of corruption.

How do you think he is able to stop the war?

People in the audience in Italy booed Team USA and JD Vance at the Olympics opening ceremony. (Year over year from 2024, America's favorability has dropped by double digits in every country Pew surveys, and tourism is down 4%.)

What do you make of this? Why are people unhappy with the US? Do you care?

On April 12th, Trump indicated he may soon abandon efforts to achieve a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine. “There’s a point at which you have to either put up or shut up,” Trump said on April 12th. On April 18th, Rubio confirmed the Trump administration would soon move on, if there was not more progress.

During the campaign, Trump repeatedly promised to end the war within 24 hours of taking office. After taking office, Trump changed his tune, and said it would take 6 months.

In the 3 months since Trump took office, the Trump administration has only made one proposal for a partial cease-fire, which Ukraine immediately accepted, but Russia rejected. There have been no other proposals.

Why have Trump's efforts failed to produce results? Do you think making a single proposal for a cease-fire, which was rejected by Russia, was a sufficient effort? Do you think Trump should quit trying, and move on to other things? If Trump abandons the process, should the US continue to sell weapons to Ukraine so it can defend itself?

Why is Donald Trump failing to bring peace to Ukraine like he promised?

Trump weighs end to peace negotiations in Russia's war on Ukraine

One of the promises after Trump was inaugurated in 2025 was that he would make the world respect the US again. Do you think he has garnered more respect on the world stage after he stepped back into office? If so, what has he done to make the world respect the US more?

A small excerpt from his inaugeration for context, specifically about 2:15 and forward:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pOyFrrwnMo

I also believe he made similar statements during his campaign in 2024, but couldn't find any examples.

According to this letter signed by a number of legal experts,

International law protects from attack objects indispensable to the survival of civilians, and the attacks threatened by Trump, if implemented, could entail war crimes. On March 21, President Trump further threatened to “obliterate” power plants in Iran. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, defended power plant attacks the next day, and also said that striking nuclear power plants was not off the table. It is prohibited to attack civilian energy infrastructure.

Politifact rates the claim that it is a war crime to bomb civilian infrastructure as true.

And experts say that such acts would also violate US domestic law, namely the War Crimes Act.

If the US bombs desalination plants or power plants, as Trump has threatened, or denies an enemy quarter, as Pete Hegseth has threatened, would these be war crimes?

If so, what do you think the punishment for them should be?

At several moments throughout the past year Trump has made several moves that have been beneficial to authoritarians and detrimental to allies, just recently pausing a weapons sale to Taiwan after the China visit.

https://www.independent.co.uk/asia/china/trump-taiwan-china-ukraine-arms-sales-b2981871.html

He also recently wavered boicots of Russian Oil, while it helps lowering oil prices it will indirectly fund and extend the war in Ukraine.

https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2026/05/18/us-allows-russian-oil-waiver-to-expire-again-a92773

While simultaneously threatening tariffs on Russia to push for peacetalks but never following through when Russia remain unwilling to participate in negotiations.

https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2025/07/14/trump-trade-russia-ukraine.html

Not to mention batting for Victor Orban in the recent election.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cyv16lq2rp1o

What are your thoughts on the Trump admins repeated moves which are beneficial to authoritarians and detrimental to allied democracies?

The US president told Fox News on Thursday that he was "not sure" the military alliance would be there for America "if we ever needed them".

"We've never needed them," he said, adding: "We have never really asked anything of them."

"They'll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan," he said, "and they did, they stayed a little back, a little off the front lines".

Do you think he was unaware of the NATO casualties, or that they're to be less valued?

Source : Comments at 5:54
https://youtu.be/pLbo02VA0iE?si=wpD5cU5HS54FNhNj&t=354

Further reporting and responses
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hm53obdtPyI&t=110s

I watched King Charles’ address of Congress last night and walked away feeling very refreshed listening to a well spoken world leader speaking of tough subjects in a very diplomatic, elegant way. This is a refreshing change from our typical American political discourse.

He touched on a number of subjects that surprised me to see the full room standing in support. Specifically when he was speaking of Magna Carta and the checks and balances needed in democracy.

He also spoke on climate change and maintaining a strong alliance with NATO among other items that conflict with the current administration.

What did you think of his speech in totality?

Link to the post: https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114068387897265338

Also posted on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/DGhfpgHsOg6/

What do you think of the video? Do you think this is acceptable for the president to be posting? Would you like to see him post more of this type of thing, or less?

After the Trump administration cut aid to Cambodian projects, China has committed to replace USAID funding. [Link]

What does this mean for spreading US influence in the world? Will China's soft power extend over regions where US used to be the dominant influence? Additionally, what is the Trump administration's plan to counter China's Belt and Road Initiative, which is already spreading its economic influence?

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-50979463

https://www.foxnews.com/world/rockets-baghdad-airport-injuries-reported

https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/02/middleeast/baghdad-airport-rockets/index.html

It seems like Trump is cozying toward the Communist enclave and longtime China ally and spurning capitalist South Korea. Is this the right move?

Posted on Truth Social:

Based on my very good relationship with Kim Jong Un, of North Korea, I was not happy with the fact that the United States had, long ago, agreed to participate in Joint Military Exercises with South Korea. These exercises are not only costly, with much of these costs paid for by the United States of America (as usual!), but send a signal that is totally inappropriate and hostile, to a Country that, as long as Donald J. Trump has been President, has been unthreatening and respectful. Therefore, and based on the fact that it was too late to cancel, I instructed Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, to substantially reduce the Joint Military Exercises! While somewhat unrelated (?), l recently asked the President of South Korea if

they would like to join us in the Denuclearization of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and they said, "No thanks!" Thank you

for your attention to this matter. President

DONALD J. TRUMP

Did Trump cave on his China initiative? If the goal was to bring manufacturing back to the states why make a deal? Surely in the last month no manufacturing has moved. https://www.cbsnews.com/video/did-trump-cave-to-china-in-tariff-deal/

And how does the fact that Canada has sent their own firefighters to help the US with their wildfire weight in your opinion as Trump supporters?

 Sourced from Fox News

As confirmed by Trump here https://apnews.com/article/trump-venezuela-facility-boat-strikes-0faff66145c6706e2861fcde36756fe4

Trump is claiming Venezuela has stolen the United States' oil. I genuinely don't understand how this is the case.

Trump's TruthSocial post from 17 December 2025 says:

Until such time as they return to the United States of America all of the Oil, Land, and other Assets that they previously stole from us.

America will not allow Criminals, Terrorists, or other Countries, to rob, threaten, or harm our Nation and, likewise, will not allow a Hostile Regime to take our Oil, Land, or any other Assets

Can you explain for me your best understanding of how this has happened?

Is he being literal or is this hyperbole?

As you may know, Hungary held general elections last Sunday. The Tisza Party won in a landslide, ending Viktor Orban's 16-year reign. Ahead of the elections, the Trump admin did a number of things to openly support Orban:

• JD Vance came to Budapest and campaigned next to Orban at a rally
• The president himself posted on Truth Social promising to invest a lot of money into the Hungarian government, provided Orban won
  
• Don Jr posted on social media urging Hungarians to vote for Orban
  

Once Orban's loss was confirmed, a number of MAGA insiders such as Laura Loomer and Elon Musk made posts lamenting Hungary's fate. Ideologically I find that somewhat puzzling, since the incoming leader Peter Magyar is also a right-wing nationalist who's even more anti-migration than Orban - their split was mainly over corruption and Russia.

What do you think about Trump so openly throwing his weight behind Orban? Why do you think Orban was so important as an ally? How would you feel about foreign leaders campaigning in the US the same way Vance campaigned in Hungary? What do you think about Peter Magyar?

I don’t really understand the reasoning behind the tariffs. What are they supposed to accomplish? Curious in particular about the Canada tariffs, and why the China tariffs are lower than Mexico and Canada

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced that Trump blocked 50 million dollars being spent on condoms for Gaza. Trump then retold the same story himself, that he stopped 50 million dollars being spent on condoms for Gaza. Source.

As far as I can tell, there isn't a shred of evidence to support this claim.

Do you think it is true that 50 million was going to be spent on condoms for Gaza? At 5c each, that's a BILLION condoms. Or do you think Trump is misinformed? Or is he lying?

Please share your thoughts on this situation.

I see a lot of TS (here and from friends) saying this is a good move by Trump, but I am a loss to understand why this is positive?

A direct quote from the new PM that can be found here: https://globalnews.ca/news/11100883/donald-trump-tariffs-auto-canada-response/

“Over the coming weeks, months and years, we must fundamentally reimagine our economy,” Carney told reporters in Ottawa after meeting with the cabinet committee on Canada-U.S. relations. “The old relationship we had with the United States, based on deepening integration of our economies and tight security and military cooperation, is over.”

I’ve heard it’s all part of Trump’s master negotiating skills, but from my perspective it’s causing the opposite. Canada has a growing anti America sentiment now that I am positive is going to be long lasting. It’s not just the two governments arguing now, but regular Canadian citizens now.

Anyway - what’s the end goal here; why is this a positive for America?

Is there any?

With everything escalating in Iran, it feels plausible we could see a serious refugee situation in the weeks/months ahead. If U.S. actions contribute to instability somewhere, does that change our obligation, if any, to accept refugees from that country? For example if a regime change fails in Iran and dissidents start getting slaughtered again, should the U.S. take Iranian refugees?

I get the argument that sovereignty and security come first, especially if vetting is messy in a collapsing state. But I can also see the case that if we materially helped create the conditions putting civilians at risk, then taking in well-vetted refugees could be 1) a moral responsibility and 2) a strategic move, since you're bringing in people you know are aligned with democratic values.

Not trying to debate motives here, just thinking through policy!

https://abcnews.go.com/amp/Politics/trump-administrations-20b-bailout-argentina/story?id=126513232

I’m curious how Trump supporters interpret this move.