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‘Extraordinary twist’ revealed to explain how journalist got added to war chat: report

An internal investigation has revealed how a reporter wound up becoming looped into a group chat involving high-level Trump administration officials discussing plans for a military operation hours before it was launched.
National security adviser Mike Waltz inadvertently added The Atlantic's editor in chief Jeffrey Goldberg, who later reported on the surprise invitation that made him privy to the top-secret war plans, and three sources briefed on the matter told The Guardian how the journalist was mistakenly added to the discussion carried out on the third-party Signal messaging app.
"According to three people briefed on the internal investigation, Goldberg had emailed the campaign about a story that criticized Trump for his attitude towards wounded service members," the publication reported. "To push back against the story, the campaign enlisted the help of Waltz, their national security surrogate."
A “forensic review” conducted by the White House information technology office then found that Goldberg's email was then forwarded to Trump spokesperson Brian Hughes, who then copied and pasted the contents of the email, including the journalist's signature block with his phone number, into a text message he sent to Waltz.
"Waltz did not ultimately call Goldberg, the people said, but in an extraordinary twist, inadvertently ended up saving Goldberg’s number in his iPhone – under the contact card for Hughes, now the spokesperson for the national security council," The Guardian reported.
The White House claims the editor's number was saved by mistake during a “contact suggestion update” by Waltz’s iPhone, with one source saying his phone adds an unknown number to an existing contact it detects could be related, and Waltz himself claims Goldberg's number was somehow "sucked" into his device.
"The mistake went unnoticed until last month when Waltz sought to add Hughes to the Signal group chat – but ended up adding Goldberg’s number to the 13 March message chain named 'Houthi PC small group,' where several top U.S. officials discussed plans for strikes against the Houthis," The Guardian reported.
Waltz has survived calls for his firing over his use of Signal because the White House had authorized use of the non-secure platform, which automatically deletes messages after they've been read, because the administration, like its predecessor, had not developed an alternative platform to text in real time across multiple agencies, two sources said.
"As a temporary solution, the Trump White House told officials to use Signal as they had done during the transition instead of regular text-message chains," The Guardian reported.
The White House did not comment on the report, and sources said the investigation did not determine the extent of Waltz's relationship with Goldberg, who offered a brief comment on the topic.
“I’m not going to comment on my relationship with Mike Waltz beyond saying I do know him and have spoken to him," Goldberg said.
‘Looked at my 401(k) and gasped’: Newsmax host shocked after tariffs hit personal wealth

Newsmax host Jon Glasgow said he was shocked after the stock market's reaction to President Donald Trump's tariffs took a toll on his personal wealth.
"I looked at my 401k and gasped," Glasgow told former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) on Sunday. "I mean, do you think that a lot of Americans are gonna give the Trump administration this grace period here while they trust in his plan?"
"Well, all due respect, John, you looked at your 401(k), and you're in your 30s or maybe 40s, and your — your portfolio looks a lot different than someone who's gonna retire this year," Santorum replied. "Certainly younger folks and even folks maybe five or 10 years away from retirement have seen a dramatic hit."
"And it's going to be — it's a problem," Santorum continued. "Look, there's — there's no question Donald Trump is facing a huge problem with what's happened to the market."
ALSO READ: 'Came as a surprise to me': Senators 'troubled' by one aspect of government funding bill
"And he's got to do some things here in the very short term to reassure the markets that this trade — this tariff policy is a policy that I would even argue that — that he's a free trader," Santorum added.
Santorum predicted the markets would "react positively" if Trump painted himself as a free trade president.
Glasgow ended the segment by calling Trump's tariff policy "the most bold move a president has ever made in the history of the United States."
Watch the video below from Newsmax.
‘Unusual requests’ from ‘diva’ Trump appointee rattles White House

One of president Donald Trump's nominees has been stressing out his staffers with his peculiar and highly specific requests.
Interior secretary Doug Burgum has placed unusual demands on his employees, four sources familiar with his leadership told The Atlantic, and his chief of staff JoDee Hanson reflected his idiosyncratic preferences by directing political appointees in his office to regularly bake chocolate chip cookies for the boss and his guests using industrial ovens at department headquarters.
"Some of the concerns have been elevated to senior White House officials, according to the sources," the magazine reported. "One person familiar with the behavior described Burgum as 'Doug the diva.' Three people said the concerns have been widely discussed among lower-level staff at the Department of Interior. Two people said political appointees in Burgum’s office have been seen crying because of the demands placed on them."
At least once, a political appointee was told to make the cookies again because their batch was subpar three sources said, and four sources claim office leadership once instructed political appointees to act as servers for a multicourse meal and dispatched a U.S. Park Police helicopter for Burgum's personal transportation – all of which Trump administration officials vehemently denied.
“These pathetic smears are from unnamed cowards who don’t know Doug Burgum and are trying to stop President Trump’s Energy Dominance agenda,” said interior spokesperson Katie Martin. “Everyone knows secretary Burgum always leads with gratitude and is humbly working with president Trump.”
ALSO READ: 'Not much I can do': GOP senator gives up fight against Trump's tariffs
Two department officials speaking on the condition of anonymity told The Atlantic the cookies were made from premade dough bought from a store and then served to guests and staff as a show of hospitality, and they claimed the helicopter was arranged by his security detial.
“He’s not demanding cookies, he’s not demanding a helicopter,” an Interior Department official said. “It is antithetical to diva behavior.”
His chief of staff has told federal workers that the tradition of staffers baking cookies began when Burgum was governor of North Dakota, according to two sources, and a White House spokesperson waved off concerns about the issue when asked to comment.
“Only The Atlantic could spin baking warm cookies for guests as a bad thing. Cold-hearted people!” said White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly. “Secretary Burgum is doing an outstanding job leading the Department of Interior.”
Interior officials also defended two other highly precise demands he makes on staffers, such as removing labels from water bottles, supposedly to avoid branding issues for social media photos, and stacking firewood in his office's fireplace.
"At times, he has instructed his staff on the finer points of arranging logs so they won’t collapse and create noise when burning during meetings," The Atlantic reported. "An Interior Department official said many people in the department—from Burgum himself to the most junior staff — have helped make fires, and that if Burgum ever offered tips, it was not intended imperiously. Burgum, who worked as a chimney sweep in college, was likely just trying to be helpful."
Florida to host 45 protests against Trump in single day as he plays golf in the state

Activists were expected to gather for at least 45 protests against President Donald Trump and DOGE administrator Elon Musk while the commander-in-chief visited three of his golf courses in the state.
The 45 protests were just some of the 1,000 nationwide demonstrations planned for Saturday against the Trump administration as a part of the "Hands Off!" movement, according to USA Today. The protests will come just days after Trump's so-called Liberation Day, when he announced tariffs on dozens of countries.
Trump was scheduled to travel to Florida on Thursday, where he will visit three golf courses he owns before returning to Washington, D.C., next week.
"Donald Trump and Elon Musk think this country belongs to them. We are fighting back! They're taking everything they can get their hands on — our health care, our data, our jobs, our services — and daring the world to stop them. This is a crisis, and the time to act is now. On Saturday, April 5th, we're taking to the streets to fight back with a clear message: Hands off!" a statement from organizers said.
ALSO READ: 'I miss lynch mobs': The secretary of retribution's followers are getting impatient
"This mass mobilization day is our message to the world that we do not consent to the destruction of our government and our economy for the benefit of Trump and his billionaire allies. Alongside Americans across the country, we are marching, rallying, and protesting to demand a stop the chaos and build an opposition movement against the looting of our country."
Protesters expressed a "commitment to nonviolent action."
"We expect all participants to seek to de-escalate any potential confrontation with those who disagree with our values," the organizers insisted.
Trump can expect to see protestors near his Mar-a-Lago resort between 3 pm and 5 pm on Saturday.
More information was available at handsoff2025.com.
‘We are not kidding’: CNN’s Dana Bash needles Trump over penguins embroiled in trade war

CNN's Dana Bash on Thursday mocked President Donald Trump for leveling tariffs against an island that are inhabited solely by penguins.
"No one is safe from President Trump's new tariffs, not even penguins," she said. "A remote island near Antarctica that is home to mainly penguins, no humans, is now subject to a 10 percent American tariff. This is not a joke. We are not kidding. These penguins, who do not trade goods or services with the United States as far as we know, are on the receiving end of a new tax."
Bash said that there were serious questions, however, raised by Trump's decision to launch a trade war against a penguin island.
"In addition to it just being ridiculous, there is the question of how did this even happen?" she wondered.
Trump's tariffs actually included two places, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, that are Australian territories near Antarctica and have no human inhabitants.
ALSO READ: 'For what purpose?' Ex-officials question DOGE staffer accessing children's private data
NPR White House correspondent Tamara Keith said that the inclusion of the penguin island in the tariff package was an indication that "essentially, this was put together very quickly even though Donald Trump has been talking about this very thing for years."
Conservative panelist Jonah Goldberg argued that the slapdash nature of the tariff rollout would spell big political trouble for Trump going forward.
"We heard [Commerce Secretary] Howard Lutnick, just before the show, came on saying... 'Trust Donald Trump to run the global economy,'" he said. "And there are lots of people, small businesses. they're going to go out of business. There are small businesses that are going to suffer. There are lots of consumers who are going to have to pay more at the grocery store. And we're supposed to trust them to run the global economy, and they're taxing penguins. And it goes to the credibility of the administration."
Watch the video below or at this link.
- YouTube www.youtube.com
‘Indescribably crazy’: Trump heads to golf tournament after ‘blowing up’ world trade

Declaring a “national emergency that threatens our security and our very way of life,” President Donald Trump, after markets closed on Wednesday afternoon, announced sweeping tariffs on nearly every nation across the globe—tanking stock market futures in the U.S. and abroad, unleashing global “chaos,” and pushing the so-called “fear index” to “extreme.”
Hours after what he dubbed “Liberation Day,” the president, on Thursday afternoon, will land at Miami International Airport and head straight to his Trump National Doral Golf Club for the LIV dinner, ahead of this weekend’s golf tournament which he is expected to attend.
As global leaders prepare to make contact with President Trump to stave off what may become a “global trade war,” he will not be in the Oval Office, but in Florida—likely hitting the greens for the remainder of the week, something he himself accused federal workers of doing back in February. (At the same time, the House of Representatives has shut down, stalled by internal Republican divisions.)
Some critics are blasting Trump’s decision to head to his golf club during this “national emergency,” which he has a long history of doing.
And as Thursday morning unfolded, CNN chief media analyst Brian Stelter posted a screenshot of CNBC’s coverage of the “global selloff.”
READ MORE: ‘Parade of Incompetence’: Trump Security Adviser Set Up Numerous Signal Chats on Key Crises
Business media company Morning Brew offered this graphic of how the stock markets are reacting.
Economists and economic experts are stunned by Trump’s massive tariffs, deemed “worse than the worst case scenario,” according to multiple financial experts.
MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle, who spent decades in finance and financial journalism, criticized Trump tariffs.
“Folks who were unhappy with the economy did NOT vote for tariffs. They voted for Trump’s promise to lower inflation. His choice of action – tariff implementation will INCREASE inflation,” she noted.
And calling it “another large step toward a new old era of trade protectionism,” The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board blasted “Trump’s New Protectionist Age.”
“Blowing up the world trading system has consequences that the President isn’t advertising,” they warned, adding they could result in “shrinking world trade and slower growth, recession, or worse.”
They also declared that “Trump’s tariffs look ‘reciprocal’ in name only,” which brings up the question of how and why Trump imposed these tariffs.
“Economists and U.S. trade partners are raising questions about how the White House calculated the tariff rates it claimed other countries ‘charge’ the United States,” CNBC reports.
Meanwhile, economist Justin Wolfers explained why he says Trump’s thinking on tariffs is “bananas,” and “indescribably crazy.”
“Take a simple example,” offered Dr. Wolfers, a public policy scholar and professor of economics. “I run a trade deficit with Trader Joe’s buying their meals, while they buy none of mine. My trade deficit as a share of my imports is 100%. By Trump’s trade logic, this deficit is evidence they’re imposing 100% tariffs on the meals I try to sell them.”
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“The White House ‘reciprocal’ tariff bears no relation to actual tariff barriers,” he adds. “It’s equal to half of the trade deficit (as a share of imports). This is indescribably crazy.”
Pointing to the “calculations” from the U.S. Trade Representative, Wolfers adds, “Obviously this is nonsense. Even crazier is that they’ve written what they think is a defense of this. I know not everyone speaks economist algebra, so lemme translate: This is muddled nonsense.”
Others, too, have criticized Trump’s method and calculations.
“Trump’s tariff chart was ‘illogical and absurd,’ full of ‘factually incorrect’ numbers about what other countries charge the U.S.,” tech analyst Dan Ives “of Wedbush Securities wrote to clients this morning,” Stelter also reported.
“Trump doesn’t seem to mind the optics of Trump abandoning the White House to skip town early for his golf club after setting the world ablaze with the tariff announcements,” MeidasTouch News writes.
