Washington, 26 March 2025 (dpa/MIA) - US President Donald Trump on Tuesday brushed off criticism of his administration's handling of a top secret military conversation and defended his national security adviser who reportedly included a journalist on a chat about striking the Iran-backed Houthi militia.

Critics in Congress and the national security community have condemned the incident in which The Atlantic magazine's editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, was included in a chat with high-ranking US officials on the commercial messaging app Signal.

Trump rejected the accusations against his team and defended his National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, who Goldberg said invited him into the chat - probably by mistake.

Trump said the accusations against Waltz were unfair: "He is a very good man and he will continue to do a good job."

Waltz said he was taking full responsibility for the "embarrassing" incident, adding "we are going to get to the bottom of it," in comments made to Fox News.

"A staffer wasn't responsible, look, I take full responsibility. I built the group," Waltz told Fox, adding that he had no idea how the journalist's number ended up in his phone and then in the group and that the matter was being looked into.

Waltz said he had never met or sent a text message to Goldberg, whom he called a Trump hater and a "bottom scum of journalist."

The security adviser also made it clear that he did not want Goldberg, who so far has made just excerpts of the chat public, to publish the entirety of the chat even though "no classified information" was shared in it.

Goldberg had reported both in The Atlantic and in television interviews that classified information was shared in the chat.

The Atlantic's editor said he was able to read live plans about upcoming US military action against the Houthis in Yemen in the chat, which involved several ministers and senior members of the government. On March 15 he said he was waiting in a supermarket parking lot to see if the bombs, coordinated on the chat, would actually fall.

And they did.

The use of Signal by high-ranking members of the government for exchanging sensitive information is causing outrage. The fact that details about an imminent military strike were discussed there - and that a journalist was inadvertently included in the group - is causing bewilderment, with Democrats calling for personal consequences.

Trump defended the use of Signal, which he said was an app "that a lot of people use."

Leaked chat reveals disgust for Europeans

Excerpts from the secret group chat show a disdain for Europe held by some high-ranking US officials.

Goldberg said an account identified as US Vice President JD Vance wrote: "I just hate bailing Europe out again."

Another user said to be US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, replied: "VP: I fully share your loathing of European free-loading. It's PATHETIC."

The United States said the aim of the attacks on the Houthi militia was to secure shipping lanes. However, the user who is said to be Vance initially expressed concern about the strikes, saying only 3% of US trade goes through the Suez Canal while 40% of European trade follows this route.

He said there was a risk the US public would therefore not understand why the US was intervening.

When asked at a press event later, Trump said he shared the view that Europe was freeloading off of the US.

Later Senator Mark Warner, a Democrat from Virginia who is vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, expressed his indignation at the tone of voice used towards European partners in the chat.

White House tries to change the narrative

The White House had already endeavoured to reinterpret the incident. In an email, there was talk of a "coordinated attempt" to distract from the success of the Trump government. Spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt explained that the decisive factor was that the Houthis were killed.

The Houthis said at least 53 people were killed in the airstrikes in mid-March, including several children.

Photo: EPA