Hegseth Responds to Media Criticism Over ‘SignalGate’ Coverage

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth isn’t having it. In a fiery response from a tarmac in Hawaii, Hegseth unloaded on The Atlantic and other legacy media outlets for peddling what he called a completely misleading narrative around a Signal group chat involving updates on U.S. military strikes against Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists in Yemen.

The controversy labeled "SignalGate" by left-wing pundits erupted after a journalist was mistakenly included in a Signal group used by top Trump administration officials for internal updates. Hegseth, speaking during a visit to U.S. forces in the Indo-Pacific, set the record straight.

“Nobody’s texting war plans,” Hegseth said bluntly. “There’s no units, no locations, no routes, no flight paths, no sources, no methods, no classified information.”

He pointed out the media’s word games shifting the narrative from "war plans" to "attack plans" after realizing their claims had no basis. “You know who sees war plans? I see ’em. Every single day.”

Hegseth made it clear that his role in the chat was simple: real-time, general updates to ensure the administration was aligned and informed as the U.S. pounded terrorist targets in Yemen.

“That’s what I did. That’s my job,” he said. “The war fighters will take the fight to the enemy, and I love what they do. And with President Trump’s leadership, our enemies are on notice. We will have peace through strength.”

The fact that this “controversy” has dominated media attention at all is a perfect example of the Left’s obsession with attacking Trump’s team for doing their jobs even when those jobs involve taking out terrorists threatening global shipping and U.S. interests.

Hegseth confirmed the strikes have been “devastatingly effective” as the campaign enters its second week. The Houthis, who have launched dozens of attacks on international vessels in the Red Sea, are now reeling under Trump-authorized military operations designed to restore security in international waters something the Biden administration utterly failed to achieve.

Rather than report on this success, the media latched onto a clerical mistake an errant group chat add and tried to spin it into a scandal.

But Hegseth’s message is clear: no secrets were leaked, no protocols broken, and the mission continues. The real scandal is how quickly legacy outlets ran with falsehoods once again to score cheap political points.

“With President Trump’s leadership,” Hegseth said, “we’ll keep putting our troops first.”

That’s the real story. While the media plays word games, Trump’s national security team is delivering results and America's enemies are feeling it.

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