Trump reveals who was behind Signal text chain leak

The president added that Goldberg's inclusion in the group chat had "no impact at all" on the strike in Yemen. 

Signal is an encrypted messaging app that operates similarly to texting or making phone calls, but with additional security measures that help ensure communications are kept private to those included in the correspondence. 

Those in the group reportedly discussed targeting the Iran-backed terrorist group, the Houthis, in Yemen, including timing. 

"According to the lengthy Hegseth text, the first detonations in Yemen would be felt two hours hence, at 1:45 p.m. eastern time," Goldberg wrote in his first-hand account of the chat. "So I waited in my car in a supermarket parking lot. If this Signal chat was real, I reasoned, Houthi targets would soon be bombed. At about 1:55, I checked X and searched Yemen. Explosions were then being heard across Sanaa, the capital city."

Trump defended Waltz during his interview with NBC on Tuesday. 

"Michael Waltz has learned a lesson, and he's a good man," Trump said in the phone interview. 

Trump separately defended Waltz in comment to Fox News on Tuesday, saying the national security advisor will not be fired over the incident. 

"He's not getting fired," Trump told Fox News. The president said the incident was a "mistake," though there was "nothing important" in the Signal text thread. 

White House Communications Director Steven Cheung summed up the Atlantic story in an X post as "nothing more than a section of the NatSec establishment community running the same, tired gameplay from years past."

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt added in a social media post on Tuesday that "No 'war plans' were discussed" in the group chat, and that "no classified material was sent to the thread."

"Jeffrey Goldberg is well-known for his sensationalist spin. Here are the facts about his latest story," she posted to X. "The White House Counsel's Office has provided guidance on a number of different platforms for President Trump's top officials to communicate as safely and efficiently as possible."

"As the National Security Council stated, the White House is looking into how Goldberg's number was inadvertently added to the thread. Thanks to the strong and decisive leadership of President Trump, and everyone in the group, the Houthi strikes were successful and effective. Terrorists were killed and that's what matters most to President Trump," she added. 

Trump was asked by the media on Tuesday if there is concern that outside forces could infiltrate Signal correspondence, with Trump directing the question to Waltz. 

"We have our technical experts looking at it," Waltz responded. "We have, our legal teams looking at it. And of course, we're going to keep everything as secure as possible. No one in your national security team would ever put anyone in danger."

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for additional comment on the matter, but did not immediately receive a reply. 

Fox News' David Rutz, Danielle Wallace and Peter Doocy contributed to this report.