Top Democrats are seizing on Signalgate in campaign fundraising appeals — highlighting how the party hopes the fallout of the national security issue can resonate beyond Washington.
The news that top Trump administration officials discussed a planned attack on Houthi rebels in a Signal chat that accidentally included an Atlantic journalist has rocked national security circles, with some top Democrats calling for the resignations of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and national security adviser Mike Waltz.
Democrats have pointed to the sequence of events as an example of the Trump administration’s incompetence — and the potential consequences for the military and broader U.S. security — but it is less clear how the issue will resonate beyond Washington. The new fundraising messages indicate Democrats believe it will at least energize its base of online donors.
“Do you feel safe under the Trump administration?” asked an email from the campaign of Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand on Tuesday, which featured the headline of The Atlantic article and called it one of the Trump administration’s “most egregious and dangerous actions yet.”
“This is amateur hour. We’re damn lucky the pilots on that mission and the sailors and marines on ships offshore didn’t make the ultimate sacrifice that day. The Trump Administration’s carelessness and incompetence put their lives at risk,” said a Tuesday email from the campaign of Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), which included a link to a petition calling on Hegseth to resign.
An email from Justice Democrats, a progressive group, said the Trump administration was “out here talking about unconstitutional war plans via a texting app called Signal” while criticizing the strikes on Yemen and Trump’s broader agenda.
The White House acknowledged this week that the texts were legitimate but has largely defended the officials involved in the group chat.
The real enemy? The Atlantic journalist who published the story, whom Waltz called “the bottom scum of journalists” in an interview on Fox News on Tuesday.
