Trump Has Sought Outside Opinions on Pete Hegseth amid Signal Scandal, Mar-a-Lago Source Says: 'He's Worried'

[Eugene]

Source: People

Trump Has Sought Outside Opinions on Pete Hegseth amid Signal Scandal, Mar-a-Lago Source Says: 'He's Worried' (Exclusive)

Sources close to the president tell PEOPLE that he's gathered input on how to handle an embarrassing security breach brought by Hegseth and national security adviser Mike Waltz

By Meredith Kile and Linda Marx Published on March 31, 2025 03:59PM EDT

• Trump sources tell PEOPLE that the president has asked around about how he should handle Pete Hegseth and Mike Waltz’s roles in his administration following the humiliating group chat scandal.
• Waltz previously took “responsibility” for mistakenly adding The Atlantic's editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, to a private Signal group chat with senior Trump officials about U.S. strikes in Yemen.
• Though Waltz apparently created the chat, Hegseth used it to share updates on the United States' attack plans, including timestamps and locations of multiple strikes on Houthi rebels.

-snip-

At the time that Waltz initially took ownership of the mistake, Trump stood by him, telling NBC News on March 25 that "Michael Waltz has learned a lesson, and he’s a good man.

However, another PEOPLE source says that — while the president "likes and relates" to Hegseth — he is not as close to Waltz.

“[Trump] is worried about the Signal situation,” the political source notes. “He wants to be respected and admired by people in power.”

A separate social source in Mar-a-Lago is of the opinion that the president will "try and leave things alone, because he won’t admit defeat.”

-snip-

Read more: https://people.com/trump-sought-opinions-pete-hegseth-mike-waltz-signal-scandal-exclusive-11706035

[Prairie Gates]

1. Jesus...this isn't a game...Hegseth and Waltz are so fucking irresponsible that they're

going to get people killed. This is our national security on the line. Trump doesn't want to act because he doesn't want to admit defeat? We all have to be in danger because of his pride?

Fuckssake with these people.

[progressoid]

7. Thanks for typing what I was thinking

[EthanBlue]

2. Ego

This guy is incredibly incompetent. If he had any intelligence he would’ve served up Pete and watlz . The talking point by fox and the like is how he was all about accountability; instead it’s snowballing.

[bucolic_frolic]

3. How about just firing everybody and then resigning, that would fix it

Admit you have no idea what you're doing. Simple.

[jls4561]

4. Four out of five Merde-a-Lardo cougars recommend....

[Meowmee]

5. Yes but how many times do we hear that and then nothing happens?

[Ms. Toad]

8. Well, if hewants to be respected and liked by people in power,

He ought to try acting like a decent human being whose focus is on the good of the country he is president of - and not this narcissistic revenge tour.

[Grammy23]

9. tRump could end the problem

By firing Pete H. and Waltz. There’d be a brouhaha for a little while and then he could move on. The PEOPLE are not gonna let it go. Besides, with Petey, the hits just keep coming. Wifey-gate. Brother-gate, etc. He’ll be a thorn in tRump’s side from now on. Just fire him and be done with it. Waltz needs to go, too. Easy peasy. Stop consulting “experts” and listen to the people.

[tanyev]

10. Oh, did he consult with experts in law, security and ethics?

[UTUSN]

11. Was going to say, not asking anybody not zombies, & he doesn't know what to think for himself