Annotated Text From Leaked Signal Group Chat With Top Trump Officials

Team, I am out for the day doing an economic event in Michigan. But I think we are making a mistake.

3 percent of US trade runs through the suez. 40 percent of European trade does. There is a real risk that the public doesn’t understand this or why it’s necessary. The strongest reason to do this is, as POTUS said, to send a message.

I am not sure the president is aware how inconsistent this is with his message on Europe right now. There’s a further risk that we see a moderate to severe spike in oil prices. I am willing to support the consensus of the team and keep these concerns to myself. But there is a strong argument for delaying this a month, doing the messaging work on why this matters, seeing where the economy is, etc.

1 Mr. Vance, a military veteran who was in Michigan touring a plastics manufacturing plant on March 14, has very consistently been skeptical of the U.S. being drawn into foreign conflicts. The point he makes here — in favor of holding off on a strike, and in the meantime convincing the public why one is necessary — is in keeping with his approach.

—Maggie Haberman

2 Mr. Vance, who has faced criticism for turning from a Trump critic to a loyalist, attempted to clean up the revelation that he questioned the president’s judgment in a large group setting after excerpts of the chat became public. In a statement, his spokesman said that “Vice President Vance unequivocally supports this administration’s foreign policy.”

“The president and the vice president have had subsequent conversations about this matter and are in complete agreement,” the statement said.

—Erica L. Green

VP: I understand your concerns – and fully support you raising w/ POTUS. Important considerations, most of which are tough to know how they play out (economy, Ukraine peace, Gaza, etc). I think messaging is going to be tough no matter what – nobody knows who the Houthis are – which is why we would need to stay focused on: 1) Biden failed & 2) Iran funded.

Waiting a few weeks or a month does not fundamentally change the calculus. 2 immediate risks on waiting: 1) this leaks, and we look indecisive; 2) Israel takes an action first – or Gaza cease fire falls apart – and we don’t get to start this on our own terms. We can manage both. We are prepared to execute, and if I had final go or no go vote, I believe we should. This [is] not about the Houthis. I see it as two things: 1) Restoring Freedom of Navigation, a core national interest; and 2) Reestablish deterrence, which Biden cratered. But, we can easily pause. And if we do, I will do all we can to enforce 100% OPSEC. I welcome other thoughts.

1 Since becoming defense secretary, Pete Hegseth has focused on “messaging,” using his experience as a Fox News anchor to launch broadsides at adversaries on social media and to amplify President Trump on pretty much all national security matters. So it makes sense that he would be focused on how to “message” the strikes.

—Helene Cooper

2 It is notable that Mr. Hegseth’s first concern here was “this leaks, and we look indecisive.” The public now sees just how much national security officials initially debated whether to move forward with the plan.

—Erica L. Green

3 In managing the fallout of the leak, the administration has focused on what the mission accomplished. One of the series of statements issued from the White House Tuesday proclaimed that the “Trump administration’s actions made Houthi terrorists pay.” It also criticized former President Biden’s lack of action against the group, which it said was armed “with precision-guided, Iran-provided weaponry.”

—Erica L. Green

4 This is among the more expansive foreign policy debates into which readers have had visibility since the administration began. Without knowing what more was discussed in the chat that The Atlantic did not publish, it’s notable that Mr. Trump, Mr. Hegseth and Mr. Waltz appear to have worked much of this out, and the rest of the group is being advised on what’s taking place.

—Maggie Haberman

5 The references to OPSEC — operational security or the idea the information had not leaked out — are in hindsight almost humorous, given that a journalist was inadvertently added to the chat.

—Julian E. Barnes

@Pete Hegseth if you think we should do it let’s go.

I just hate bailing Europe out again.

1 The vice president had already offended Europe in several ways before the release of these messages. There was a recent uproar in Britain after he said an American economic deal in Ukraine would be a better security guarantee for that country than “20,000 troops from some random country that hasn’t fought a war in 30 or 40 years.” And he shocked Germany when he showed up to the Munich security conference and admonished Europeans about free speech laws.

—Shawn McCreesh

2 The idea of Europe not pulling its weight on military matters has been a frequent theme of the Trump administration, including during Mr. Vance’s and Mr. Hegseth’s February visits to Europe.

—Julian E. Barnes

VP: I fully share your loathing of European free-loading. It’s PATHETIC.

But Mike is correct, we are the only ones on the planet (on our side of the ledger) who can do this. Nobody else even close. Question is timing. I feel like now is as good a time as any, given POTUS directive to reopen shipping lanes. I think we should go; but POTUS still retains 24 hours of decision space.

1 Mr. Hegseth is echoing here a Trump-administration critique that the U.S. Navy does more to keep shipping lanes through the Suez Canal open than European naval forces do. Using words like “loathing” and “pathetic” will likely make his next meetings with European counterparts dicey.

—Helene Cooper

2 The internal back-and-forth here, if it had taken place inside the walls of a government building, might very well be considered classified: It is a debate among high-level officials about foreign policy. But on another, more basic level, it is far from a secret: Mr. Vance and others have spoken scornfully of European leaders in public settings.

—Devlin Barrett

3 The president was asked Tuesday afternoon whether he agreed with this assessment revealed in the signal chat. “Uh, do you really want me to answer that question?” he replied, adding, “Yeah, I think they’ve been freeloading.”

—Shawn McCreesh