Donald Trump seeks outside opinion on Pete Hegseth after Signal chat leak as insider says 'he's worried'

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump has sought outside opinion on how to deal with the fallout of the Signal chat leak concerning top national security officials in his administration, such as Pete Hegseth and Mike Waltz, reported People on Monday, March 31, citing insider sources.

A week ago, The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg revealed that he had been mistakenly added to a group chat with senior officials, including Vice President JD Vance, where they discussed war plans such as bombing Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Hegseth initially denied the allegations, which led to Goldberg sharing screenshots of the conversation. It showed that the Trump Defense Secretary had texted the attack plans in detail, including the timing and locations of various strikes that were carried out.

National Security Adviser Waltz later took responsibility for mistakenly adding the journalist to the chat but failed to explain how he got Goldberg's number on his phone as he claimed to have never met him.

Donald Trump seeks opinion on how to deal with Signal scandal

The leak of sensitive military information over a group chat has reportedly embarrassed the Trump administration, with the POTUS seeking advice from trusted allies on how to handle the fallout, an insider at Mar-a-Lago told People.

“Donald has asked people around him what they think about both Pete Hegseth and Mike Waltz and assesses their opinions,” said the person. "In the end, he usually makes up his own mind about what, if anything, he plans to do. The Signal scandal is no different. Ideally, he wants it to go away.”

Trump has publicly supported Waltz following the revelation of the leak, but another source informed the publication that he is not as close to Waltz as he is with Hegseth.

"(Trump) is worried about the Signal situation,” they stated. “He wants to be respected and admired by people in power.”

A third source believes that the incumbent will "try and leave things alone, because he won’t admit defeat,” claiming that "if things get worse concerning either man, Trump will steer himself away from the whole thing in a bigger way than he has now."

On the chances of Trump firing Hegseth or Waltz, the source noted that Trump "will do what he has to."

Internet trolls Donald Trump over Signal leak fallout

Netizens reacting to the news on the social media platform Facebook trolled Trump for seeking suggestions. The following comments demonstrate their takes.

"He should have acted immediately and fired his junk drawer of a cabinet. They are an outrageous embarrassment and imminent threat to our national security," wrote one person.

"I say ask the magic eight ball, it never lies," jibed another.

"Did he ask Putin?" mocked a third.

"Wait, I thought he only hired the best?" said a fourth.

"He doesn’t want to hear the truth," wrote another.

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.