CNN’s Anderson Cooper openly questioned the credibility of National Security Adviser Mike Waltz’s explanation for how The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg ended up in a Signal group chat where top Trump officials discussed sensitive military plans.
On his show “Anderson Cooper 360” Wednesday night, Cooper reviewed the inconsistent timeline of excuses offered by Waltz and President Donald Trump as the administration tried to downplay the fallout from what’s now being dubbed “Signalgate.”
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In a Tuesday interview with Fox News, Waltz attempted to explain how Goldberg’s contact information appeared on his phone and ultimately was added to the group chat discussing a U.S. airstrike on Houthi militants in Yemen. “If you have somebody else’s contact and then it and then somehow gets sucked in…it gets sucked in,” Waltz said, leaving viewers — and Cooper — scratching their heads.
Cooper responded with visible bewilderment: “It gets sucked in? I have no idea what that means,” he said during the broadcast. “Does he mean Goldberg’s contact somehow got sucked into his phone, or it got sucked into the chat?”
Cooper’s confusion underscored the broader uncertainty surrounding the administration’s evolving explanations. Earlier this week, Trump told Newsmax that a “lower level” staffer was to blame for the accidental inclusion of the journalist in a conversation involving real-time strike details, such as launch times and weapon systems.
But Waltz had already publicly contradicted that claim. “Waltz said the exact opposite,” Cooper pointed out. “He admitted responsibility.” The discrepancy has only fueled growing skepticism about the administration’s handling of the leak. Waltz’s strange phrasing—suggesting that Goldberg’s contact was somehow “sucked in” to the phone or chat—has become a focal point of media ridicule, highlighting concerns over competence at the highest levels of national security.
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The Signal chat, which included Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other senior Trump officials, has sparked widespread criticism after it was revealed that classified operational details were discussed, with a journalist present in the group. The administration’s shifting narratives and lack of clarity have only intensified calls for further investigation.
As Cooper concluded, the situation appears to be less about tech mishaps and more about accountability — or the lack thereof — inside the Trump White House.
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