Donald Trump defended his colleague Mike Waltz publicly after the chat leak.
But behind closed doors he was furious.
The reason for the president's anger was unexpected, however.
The journalist about the group chat: "I thought someone was trying to trick me"
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At the beginning of the week, Donald Trump and his administration were hit by the first real scandal of this term.
Journalist Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic magazine, was accidentally invited into a secret group chat by national security adviser Mike Waltz.
Several of the administration's top officials, including the Secretary of Defense and the Vice President, participated in the chat, discussing attacks in Yemen.
Outwardly, the president is said to have kept his mask on, but in the meeting in question, he is said to have been really pissed.
However, he was not angry that an outsider was invited into the chat.
According to three people with insight into the situation – who were granted anonymity by Politico – Trump was instead angry that Mike Waltz had Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg's number saved in his phone at all.
– The president was pissed at how Waltz could be so stupid, one of the sources tells Politico.
Over the past two months, the administration has been run with more discipline, loyalty and structure than during Trump's chaotic first term.
The incident with the chat leak is the first real scandal.
“Built careers on lies”
On Tuesday night, the White House announced its support for Waltz. Trump gave brief interviews with NBC News and Fox News, where he said he would support his national security adviser.
At the same time, Waltz participated in a meeting with some other Trump aides on Tuesday.
“There are a lot of journalists in this city who have built their careers on making up lies. This particular person I have never met, don’t know, have never communicated with. We are currently investigating how in the world he ended up in this room,” Waltz said during the meeting.
Trump has continued to back his adviser, calling Waltz “a very good man,” suggesting that he had been unfairly attacked.
But despite the friendly and supportive tone on the outside, several of Trump’s aides are warning that this may not be the end of Mike Waltz’s problems.
Politico reports.
Mike Waltz. Photo: Ben Curtis / AP
Hate the magazine
Another source, who was also granted anonymity by Politico, said that the incident created serious tensions between Mike Waltz and Trump's inner circle.
The leak, although unintentional, became even more problematic for Mike Waltz because the journalist Jeffrey Goldberg is from The Atlantic magazine.
The president has long held a grudge against The Atlantic after an article in the magazine in which anonymous sources claimed that he had called American soldiers who died in war "scumbags and losers".
The Atlantic was also one of the first leading media outlets to demand that Trump be impeached during his first term. The word “Impeach” was printed in big, red letters on the cover in March 2019.
Trump and his staff have long been suspicious of leaks, and are very skeptical of staffers who talk to certain journalists – or who have contact with reporters outside their area of responsibility.
A different kind of preview now
Unlike the previous administration, Trump’s second term has so far been relatively leak-free. This has been attributed, according to Politico, to the leadership of Chief of Staff Susie Wiles.
Trump’s staffers were also more thoroughly vetted this time for loyalty before being given their positions.
One staffer, according to Politico, even went so far as to review the phone of a person they suspected of leaking information – in an attempt to identify which journalist the person had last been in contact with.
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