The Donald Trump administration is under fire at the moment because Pete Hegseth, the Secretary of Defense, allegedly texted war plans about bombing Houthi forces in Yemen directly to the Editor-In-Chief of the Atlantic, Jeffery Goldberg, who was mistakenly added to a Signal group chat called "Houthi PC small group."

Unsurprisingly, the reported security blunder is sparking viral memes, reactions and backlash online. Hegseth has denied the claims, but Goldberg is thoroughly convinced, mostly because the bombings in Yemen took place hours after they were detailed in the chat.

So, what's really going on here, and how are people memeing about it? Let's explain.

How Did Pete Hegseth Allegedly Leak War Plans To The Atlantic Editor-in-Chief?

On Monday, the Atlantic's Editor-In-Chief Jeffery Goldberg published an article called, "The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans." Goldberg said that he was added to a group chat earlier in the month by an account belonging to a "Michael Waltz."

The group chat was called "Houthi PC small group," hosted on the encrypted messaging app Signal, which is widely used by reporters (and apparently government officials) to keep messages secure.

High-ranking officials in President Trump's administration were seemingly active in the chat, including the Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and Vice President J.D. Vance.

On March 15th, the account belonging to Pete Hegseth sent a "lengthy text" containing war plans to bomb Houthi forces in Yemen. The bombings took place two hours later, leading Goldberg to believe that a hoaxster wasn't duping him.




What Are Some Of The Memes About Pete Hegseth Texting War Plans?

The story immediately went viral on Twitter / X when journalist Jonathan Lemire shared a link to it. His tweet received a whopping 25 million views in a day, sparking viral discourse about the alleged incident as it spread widely online.

Memes at Hegseth's expense surfaced in the following hours. The incident became a symbol of his perceived incompetence, which extended to the entire Trump White House.

Hegseth, for example, was initially panned by journalists when he was first brought up as Trump's leading candidate for Secretary of Defense. Hegseth is a former Fox News host with objectively little experience in the given field.

Popular meme formats like Couple Texting in Bed were used to portray the imagined text conversations going on between Hegseth and Goldberg. Others centered on the emojis sent by the Michael Waltz account (👊 🇺🇸 🔥), which were hilariously patriotic given the active leaking of intelligence occurring simultaneously.

Others took issue with Jeffery Goldberg leaving the group chat after the war plans were seemingly leaked. "Imagine being given a secret front row seat to the inner workings of an authoritarian regime led by the worst people alive and then hurriedly removing yourself because it's not 'appropriate,'" wrote one passionate X user.




Has Pete Hegseth Responded To The Claims?

Before the day ended, Pete Hegseth was cornered by Fox News reporters who asked him about what was going on.

Hegseth adamantly denied Goldberg's claims, using the opportunity to attack the Editor-In-Chief by calling him "a deceitful and highly discredited so-called journalist who has made a profession of peddling hoaxes."

Reporter: Can you share how your information about war plans was shared with a journalist? Hegseth: So you are talking about a deceitful and highly discredited so-called journalist who has made a profession of peddling hoaxes pic.twitter.com/JXegFXbdpP

— Acyn (@Acyn) March 24, 2025

Some internet users have even noted how right-leaning media is perceivably trying to spin the story. In a segment on Watters' World, Jesse Watters tried to explain the situation to an older generation. "Ever try and start a group text and you're adding people, and you accidentally add the wrong person? Well, that kind of happened today with the Trump administration," he said during the segment.

Here is how Watters explains The Atlantic story to his viewers pic.twitter.com/UbBfcrFxPF

— Acyn (@Acyn) March 25, 2025

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For the full history of Pete Hegseth Texting War Plans to Atlantic Editor, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's entry for even more information.