The White House has accidentally shared war plans with a journalist in an incident that some people are calling “SignalGate”, and the memes are *chef’s kiss*.
In what appears to be a major security breach, secretary of defence Pete Hegseth revealed top-secret plans regarding Houthi rebels in Yemen to The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg.
Eighteen other members of Trump’s cabinet, including vice-president JD Vance, secretary of state Marco Rubio, and the director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, were Included in a Signal chat group, the leak from which sparked bipartisan outrage, with minority leader Chuck Schumer condemning it on the floor of the senate on Monday (24 March).
Schumer labelled it “one of the most stunning breaches of military intelligence I have read about in a very, very long time”. He called on the Republicans to mount a “full investigation into how this happened, the damage it created and how we can avoid it in the future”.
Goldberg was accidentally included in the Signal group chat, which detailed military plans about air strikes in Yemen. The messaging service app is not approved by the US government for sharing sensitive information.
The White House confirmed the leak, adding that it was “reviewing how an inadvertent number was added to the chain”, The Guardian reported.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt released a statement that read: “President Trump continues to have the utmost confidence in his national security team, including national security advisor Mike Waltz.”
#SignalGate
Memes, many under the hashtag #SignalGate, have flooded social media, and they are hilarious.
One shows members of the chat looking on as Elon Musk, the head of The Department of Government Efficiency (who constantly puts out “least popular kid in school” vibes) is pictured frowning, with text that reads: “You guys have a group chat?”
#SignalGate
#Hegseth
#FuckMusk— 2Tone4Real (@2tone4real.bsky.social) 25 March 2025 at 06:35
In another, two husky dogs, representing Waltz and Hegseth, are sitting beside Goldberg, who is depicted as a cat “hiding” by wearing a husky costume (although to be pedantic for a minute, Goldberg wasn’t trying to hide. He was, like, right there in the chat).
Lurking in the chat like pic.twitter.com/DzAsein6i1
— Mike Nelson (@mikenelson586) March 24, 2025
Another classic meme features an anime-style character lying in bed, looking at their phone.
— Organizermemes (@OrganizerMemes) March 24, 2025
A more-simple, but no-less-amusing, offering shows a text bubble that reads: “Txt STOP to opt out of updates on war plans.”
— amy spetner Doughty To Life embroidery
(@amyleahs) March 25, 2025
In a similar style, a text message jokes about Hegseth “drunk texting” reporters at The Atlantic daily with messages that read: “Bomb Yemen tonite.”
Goldberg is also pictured as Sesame Street character Big Bird with members of Trump’s cabinet, giving a sort of “elephant in the room” effect.
— Kein Mensch Kein Tier (@KampfmitKette) March 24, 2025
More seriously (sorry), other people shared their alarm about the purported breach, with one concerned Democratic strategist tweeting: “There needs to be investigations into SignalGate both in Congress and by the FBI. Laws were certainly broken in this National Security Breach. How many other conversations have taken place on apps? Possible foreign governments have compromised devices?”
Former defense secretary Leon Panetta also appeared on the news to say that somebody “needs to get fired” over the Trump administration’s “shocking war plans leak.”
Share your thoughts! Let us know in the comments below, and remember to keep the conversation respectful.
The post The White House accidentally shared secret war plans with a journalist – the memes are incredible appeared first on PinkNews | Latest lesbian, gay, bi and trans news | LGBTQ+ news.