MAGA in Overdrive to Defend War Plan Group Chat as Full Texts Released
Trump supporters are desperately trying to downplay the war plans group chat scandal after complete messages of the discussion were released Wednesday.
On Monday, The Atlantic reported that top-ranking officials in Trump’s Cabinet, including Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, discussed American military plans on Signal, and accidentally added The Atlantic’s editor in chief to the chat. Two days later, after the Trump administration repeatedly insisted the information wasn’t classified, the magazine released the full text messages.
The messages contained details about the timing of an American airstrike and location of missile strikes against the Houthis in Yemen—information that MAGA says isn’t classified at all, but was merely being shared in a productive discussion among colleagues.
“Full Signal text chain has been released. There’s nothing in it but the pros and cons of striking now vs waiting a month. It’s not war plans. It’s not classified info,” Shawn Farash, a right-wing influencer known for his impressions of Trump, wrote on X. “It’s a conversation, and nice to see cabinet members and staffers hashing out the best way to move forward.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt also denied that any “war plans” or “classified information” was sent in the group chat.
The Atlantic later dropped “war plans” from the article’s headline, which MAGA is taking as confirmation that the discussion of plans was just a conversation.
“The Atlantic has already abandoned their bullshit ‘war plans’ narrative, and in releasing the full chat , they concede they LIED to perpetuate yet ANOTHER hoax on the American people,” White House deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich wrote on X. “What scumbags!”
But there was no lie. The full chat shows that Defense Secretary Hegseth sent texts detailing the attack’s timing, including “WHEN THE FIRST BOMBS WILL DEFINITELY DROP.”
“1410: More F-18s LAUNCH (2nd strike package),” he wrote. “1415: Strike Drones on Target (THIS IS WHEN THE FIRST BOMBS WILL DEFINITELY DROP, pending earlier ‘Trigger Based’ targets),” Hegseth wrote. “1536 F-18 2nd Strike Starts—also, first sea-based Tomahawks launched,” and “MORE TO FOLLOW (per timeline)”
If discussing the targets, timing and location of a U.S. airstrike is not classified information, or war plans … what is?