The Daily Signal - Victor Davis Hanson: Keep Your Enemies Close…But NOT In Your Groupchats

Episode Date: March 26, 2025

Did Jeffery Goldberg really have access to top secret “war plans”? When National Security Adviser Mike Waltz allegedly added Jeffrey Goldberg, editor of The Atlantic, to an encrypted groupchat with other senior Trump administration members, Goldberg remained silent for over a week, listening in on discussions before publishing a bombshell exposé on March 24th. Victor Davis Hanson reviews this debacle on today’s episode of “Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words.”   “ He is one of the most hard-left critics of the Trump administration imaginable. But he was on there. And he listened to these conversations, apparently, for about 10 days. And then, when he was waiting and—he never notified anybody that they had mistakenly put his name on the inclusion list to this confidential information.   “ Bottom line, if you're in the Trump administration, do not, do not under any circumstances think you can be friends with people who despise you. And this is a lesson that I hope Mike Waltz learns.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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We'd love to talk, business. There's been a story out about a leak with national security implications. About 10 days ago, around March 15th, the security team of the Trump administration, which included Pete Hexas, Marco Rubio, J.D. Vance, the Vice President, advisor Stephen Miller, some intelligence officials, Telsi Gabbard. There's about 15 people on it. But here's what happened. Somebody, and allegedly it's National Security Advisor Michael Walts, who was one of the architects of this group chat that was supposedly included.

put Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor of the Atlantic. I mean, this is insane. Bottom line, if you're in the Trump administration, do not, do not under any circumstances. Thank you. You can be friends with people who despise you. Hello, this is Victor Davis Hanson for the Daily Signal. There's been a story out this week about a leak

with national security implications. Apparently, about 10 days ago, around March 15th, the security team of the Trump administration, which included Pete Hexas, the Defense Secretary, Marco Rubio, the Secretary of State, J.D. Vance, the Vice President, advisor Stephen Miller, Susan Wilde, another presidential advisor, some intelligence officials, John Radcliffe, head of the CIA, Tulsi Gabbard. There's about 15 people on it. And they were communicating from an inherited protocol from the Biden administration and encrypted signal media vehicles so that they could talk about national security questions, specifically, including whether to bomb the Houthis and retaliation for shutting down maritime transportation on the Red Sea. But here's what happened. somebody, and allegedly it's National Security Advisor Michael Walts, who was one of the architects of this group chat that was supposedly encrypted, put Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor of the Atlantic Monthly.

I mean, this is insane. He is one of the most hard left critics of the Trump administration imaginable. But he was on there, and he listened to these conversations apparently for about 10 days. And then when he was waiting, and he never notified anybody that they had mistakenly put his name on the inclusion list to this confidential information. He just sat there and didn't tell anybody, of course. He was waiting for a big scoop. And he got it when on March 15th, they decided to bomb the Houthis, and there was an internal discussion, J.D. Vance said this is kind of against the MAGA initiative of not wanting to have optional military engagements. Some people said, well, the Europeans benefit, they need access to the Red Sea.

Here we are again. But there was internal discussion for and against. As soon as he heard that, though, and then he learned that a few hours later there was an actual attack, he decided he was going to be famous or in right-wing circles, conservative infamous. So then on March 24th, he published How I Know All of This and They Put Me on This Chat List. In other words, he didn't ever identify anybody and say, this was a mistake. I don't have a national security clearance. Please don't put me on there.

No, he just listened in stealthily through their mistake. And what do we make of all this? Of course, the Trump administration people said immediately, this was not classified information. It was just internal discussion. Goldberg said this was a complete lapse, and then all proverbial hell broke loose. The Congress brought people in, how can you do this? Pete Buttigig of all people said this is a massive screw-up. Hillary Clinton weighed in.

This is a person who destroyed 30,000 emails. Some of them classified, and of course was using a private server to transmit classified information. which even James Comey said was felonious. And then we had Leon Panetta weigh in in critical. This is the Leon Panetta, of course, who was one of the 51 intelligence authorities who lied to the country on October 23rd of 2020 to arm Joe Biden in the debate. But here's my point. Why would you ever put Jeffrey Goldberg?

He has a history. He has a history. He was the one in 2020 right during the campaign to help, Joe Biden went back and said in 2018, when Donald Trump was visiting Normandy and France, that it was rainy, and he said it wasn't safe to go to the N. Marn Cemetery to see the American Dead. I was on the American Battle Monuments Commission, so I know that cemetery very well. And 19 people didn't deny Jeffrey Goldberg, but in a campaign timed, synchronized manner, he said that Donald Trump said these people were suckers to die that way.

And he said he had four anonymous sources that were in the room. He never identified any of them. 19 said he was not telling the truth. Joe Biden almost immediately began cutting commercials and saying that this had something to do with his son and his son had died. Remember he kind of mixed up the details that his son had died because he was in Iraq and how dare Trump? And it really hurt Trump in the 2020 election. A couple of other details very quickly. This is the same Jeffrey Goldberg, remember that my former colleague, Kevin Williamson, left the National Review.

He trashed me on the way out. By the way, I don't hold me grudges on that. And he said he was going to work for Jeffrey Goldberg, and he announced it at a very high salary. And then before he even started, Jeffrey Goldberg flipped, bowed to pressure, and said, he was an anti-abortion person, and they fired him. He doesn't have a very good record for veracity. Why would you ever, ever even consider having his name in your Rolodex? And the answer is, I don't know, but as a general will, if you're a conservative, you only deal with hostile media, and that's 95% of them, on the circumstances that you go in expecting a public debate.

You don't talk to them off the record. You don't disclose them. trust me, I've had the same experience. Final note. Final note. This reminds me so much of 2010. Remember Stanley McChrystal? He was the commanding officer of all forces in Afghanistan. He brought in a similar Jeffrey Goldberg type person. Michael Hastings, a left-wing Rolling Stones reporter. Why, as a general in charge of intelligence, would you allow a left-wing reporter to be embedded with your intimate conversations. And at one point, an unidentified officer said, there's a phone call, and it's Joe Biden, who was the vice president, but he called him Joe bite me. Hasting's clinging on that, wrote a big letter.

McChrystal allowed a officer. They chuckled apparently, and they made fun of the vice president. They went back to Washington. He was recalled, and Barack Obama relieved him from command. Remember, Article 88 says that no active or retired officer, high-ranking officer, can disparage the president, vice president, and cabinet members. I don't think that he meant that to be public, and he didn't say it. He just heard it and did not correct it, but that was grounds enough to relieve him from command. Final footnote, we've had a lot of generals who've said a lot worse about the commanding officer, and none of them, whether active or retired, have faced any of the circumstances. that Stanley McChrystal faced. Bottom line, if you're in the Trump administration,

do not, do not under any circumstances think you can be friends with people who despise you. And this is a lesson that I hope Mike Walts learns, and I think you will, and that they should press on. This is Victor Davis-Hansson for the Daily Signal. Thank you for watching today's podcast. And for more news like that, Subscribe to the Daily Signal.

Maybe you can check out my own website at victorhansson.com for podcast, lectures, ultra-series behind a paywall, but more importantly, just daily columns that are accessible and free to everyone. Thank you very much.