Trump says he’ll sit for an interview with the reporter who exposed Hegseth’s ‘Signalgate’
By Liam Reilly and Kit Maher, CNN
(CNN) — President Donald Trump on Thursday said he will meet with Jeffrey Goldberg, the Atlantic editor-in-chief who, in late March, was accidentally added to a Signal group chat that involved classified information and several top Trump officials.
Trump said via Truth Social that he will sit for the interview “out of curiosity” and “as a competition” with himself. The president claimed the conversation will allow him to judge whether The Atlantic can truthfully write a story about him, alleging the publication writes “fictional stories” without offering proof.
“Are they capable of writing a fair story on ‘TRUMP’? The way I look at it, what can be so bad — I WON,” the president wrote.
The interview will be conducted by Goldberg alongside Atlantic writers Michael Scherer and Ashley Parker, Trump wrote. The president added that he was informed it will be part of a longer story titled, “The Most Consequential President of this Century.”
The Trump-Goldberg interview comes less than a month after National Security Adviser Mike Waltz inadvertently added the top Atlantic editor to a Signal chat in which top defense advisers discussed a US attack on locations in Yemen. The resulting “Signalgate” scandal shocked US officials and journalists alike, intimating a significant lapse in security protocols and care on the officials’ part.
After being added to the Signal chat, Goldberg opted to stay silent because he was unsure if the conversation was legitimate. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth then shared classified information in the group chat about a US strike on Houthi rebels in Yemen. Notably, Goldberg did not include screenshots of texts in his first report.
The Trump administration initially downplayed the scandal, insisting that the texts viewed by Goldberg did not include classified information. Hegseth insisted that “nobody’s texting war plans” and described Goldberg as “deceitful and highly discredited.” In response, Goldberg reversed course, sharing screenshots from the chat to allow readers to draw their own conclusions.
MAGA media outlets have largely defended the president and his officials over the lapse. The day after the scandal broke, Fox News host Kayleigh McEnany, a former Trump aide, called the move “an obvious mistake” before claiming Goldberg “is not a credible reporter.” Fox News primetime host Jesse Watters went so far as to suggest Goldberg had somehow infiltrated the group chat. And Waltz, who reportedly added Goldberg to the chat, repeatedly stressed that he did not know Goldberg personally.
Trump has previously raged against Goldberg, who in 2020 wrote a story about the president calling Americans who died in war “suckers” and “losers.” Trump on Thursday again called that report a “made-up HOAX.”
The Atlantic declined to comment. Goldberg, Parker and Scherer were seen leaving the White House late afternoon on Thursday
Hadas Gold contributed reporting.
The-CNN-Wire
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