On Monday, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth landed in Hawaii to meet with civilian and military leaders from the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command and to travel throughout the Pacific Theater to Guam, the Philippines, and Japan. The press corps on the tarmac first asked Hegseth about the purpose of this trip. Hegseth addressed Trump's command to re-establish deterrence, and urged that this trip was of "critical importance."

We're out here to talk tour commanders and most importantly, to meet with the troops all across the Indo-Pacific, and our allies and partners too. 

Earlier on Monday, The Atlantic broke a major story when editor Jeffrey Goldberg alleged that he had been accidentally added to a Signal text group with Vice President JD Vance and the Trump administration national security team, including Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. The writer claimed that he was privy to the classified details surrounding the bombing of the Houthis in Yemen. 

BREAKING

Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, was accidentally included in a Signal group chat with top Trump administration officials, where top-secret war plans related to Yemen were shared.

Full Story: https://t.co/K737gsH35i pic.twitter.com/IKjKskWSfS

— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) March 24, 2025

A spokesperson for the White House National Security Council appears to have verified the authenticity of the Signal conversation and that a journalist was inadvertently added to it, saying "We are reviewing how an inadvertent number was added to the chain." 

"The thread is a demonstration of the deep and thoughtful policy coordination between senior officials," the spokesperson said. "The ongoing success of the Houthi operation demonstrates that there were no threats to our servicemembers or our national security."

Another reporter asked, "Can you share how your information about war plans against the Houthis in Yemen was shared with a journalist in The Atlantic, and were those details classified?"

Hegseth did not address the question but brought the journalist's prior record into question.

You're talking about a deceitful and highly discredited so-called journalist who has made a profession of peddling hoaxes time and time again. To include the... I don't know... hoaxes of "Russia, Russia, Russia!" or the "fine people on both sides hoax," or the "suckers and losers" hoax. So, this is a guy who peddles in garbage, that is what he does. 

Hegseth pivoted to the state of affairs which led to the campaign against the Houthis.

I would love to comment on the Houthi campaign, because of the skill and courage of our troops. I've monitored it very closely, from the beginning. And you see, we've been managing four years of deferred maintenance under the Trump administration. Our troops, our sailors were getting shot at--as targets--our ships couldn't sail through. And when they did shoot back, it was purely defensively, or at shacks in Yemen. President Trump said, "No More." We will re-establish deterrence, we will open freedom of navigation, and we will ultimately decimate the Houthis. Which is what we did. 

The press reporter tried a different tack to re-pivot to The Atlantic article.

"Why were those details shared on Signal and how did you learn that a journalist was privy to that information?" 

Hegseth then denied that anyone was texting war plans.

. @SecDef response to the @TheAtlantic article….

“You’re talking about a deceitful and highly discredited “so-called journalist” pic.twitter.com/pLtcUF4ZtN

— DOD Rapid Response (@DODResponse) March 24, 2025

While in Hawaii, Hegseth plans to meet the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command members, both military leaders and civilian personnel. He plans to travel to Guam where he is expected to tour the military facilities and receive capabilities briefs. Then Hegseth moves on to the Philippines, where he will advance security objectives with Philippine leaders and meet with U.S. and Philippine forces. Hegseth's final stop will be Japan, where he will participate in a ceremony commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Iwo Jima.

President Trump, in an afternoon press conference, stated he did not know about the story and cast aspersions on The Atlantic's reputation for truth.

Reporter: “Mr. President, your reaction to the story from The Atlantic that said some of your top cabinet officials and aids have been discussing very sensitive material through Signal…what is your response to that?”

President Trump: “I don’t know anything about it. I’m not a… pic.twitter.com/OHC0LaNkQa

— RedWave Press (@RedWave_Press) March 24, 2025