National Security Advisor Waltz vows to ‘get to the bottom’ of embarrassing text leak

National Security Advisor Michael Waltz assumed “full responsibility” for a leaked Signal group chat of senior Trump officials that discussed plans for a forthcoming strike on the Houthis in Yemen.

“I take full responsibility. I built the group,” Waltz said on “The Ingraham Angle” Tuesday. “It’s embarrassing. We’re going to get to the bottom of it.”

TRUMP REVEALS WHO WAS BEHIND SIGNAL TEXT CHAIN LEAK

Jeffrey Goldberg, the Atlantic’s editor-in-chief, penned a first-person account of getting a connection request from what appeared to be Trump’s National Security Advisor Michael Waltz on March 11 on Signal, a popular encrypted messaging service used by journalists and government officials. He accepted and was then added to a chat group called “Houthi PC Small Group,” where he proceeded to see a series of top Trump officials discuss what turned out to be an upcoming attack on the Houthis, in what critics are calling a massive breach of national security.

Several Trump officials were reportedly in the chat, including Waltz, Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles.

President Donald Trump was asked about the story at the White House on Monday but appeared unbothered, and took a shot at The Atlantic when asked about its involvement.

“I don’t know anything about it. I’m not a big fan of the Atlantic,” he told a reporter. “To me, it’s a magazine that’s going out of business. I think it’s not much of a magazine, but I know nothing about it.”

TRUMP SAYS WALTZ DOESN’T NEED TO APOLOGIZE OVER SIGNAL TEXT CHAIN LEAK: ‘DOING HIS BEST’

Waltz also aimed some criticism at The Atlantic, declaring he did not know Goldberg outside of what the NSA dubbed his “horrible reputation.”

“I can tell you for 100% I don’t know this guy. I know him by his horrible reputation, and he really is the bottom scum of journalists. And I know him in the sense that he hates the president, but I don’t text him. He wasn’t on my phone. And we’re going to figure out how this happened,” Waltz said, after making similar comments about Goldberg earlier Tuesday. 

“I’m not a conspiracy theorist, but of all the people out there. Somehow this guy – who has lied about the president, who has lied to Gold Star families, lied to their attorneys and gone to Russia hoax, gone to just all kinds of lengths to lie and smear the president of the United States – and he’s the one that somehow gets on somebody’s contact and then gets sucked into this group.”

The Atlantic responded to “The Ingraham Angle” in part saying, “attempts to disparage and discredit The Atlantic, our editor, and our reporting follow an obvious playbook by elected officials and others in power who are hostile to journalists and the First Amendment rights of all Americans…”

Trump defended Waltz in comment to Fox News on Tuesday, saying the national security advisor will not be fired over the incident despite some Democrats calling for Waltz and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to resign following the apparent national security breach.

“He’s not getting fired,” Trump told Fox News. The president said the incident was a “mistake,” though there was “nothing important” in the Signal text thread. 

TOP DEM USED SAME APP USED IN ATLANTIC SCANDAL TO SET UP CONTACT WITH STEELE DOSSIER AUTHOR

Waltz also addressed the president’s comments to NBC Tuesday that a staffer from Waltz’s office was behind the addition of the journalist to the group chat. 

“A staffer wasn’t responsible,” he said, revealing there was a different contact meant to be added to the group. “You got somebody else’s number on someone else’s contact. So, of course, I didn’t see this loser in the group. It looked like someone else. Now, whether he did it deliberately or it happened in some other technical mean is something we’re trying to figure out.”

Waltz did not disclose who was intended to be added to the Signal chat. 

During the same interview with NBC on Tuesday, Trump noted that Goldberg’s inclusion in the group chat had “no impact at all” on the strike in Yemen. 

“Michael Waltz has learned a lesson, and he’s a good man,” Trump told NBC in the phone interview Tuesday. 

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt added in a social media post on Tuesday that “No ‘war plans’ were discussed” in the group chat, and that “no classified material was sent to the thread.”

“As the National Security Council stated, the White House is looking into how Goldberg’s number was inadvertently added to the thread. Thanks to the strong and decisive leadership of President Trump, and everyone in the group, the Houthi strikes were successful and effective. Terrorists were killed and that’s what matters most to President Trump,” she added. 

Waltz told “The Ingraham Angle” he took valuable lessons from the Signal chat leak episode.

“Lesson learned number one is you’ve got journalists out there who have made fame and fortune trying to trash this president,” Waltz told Fox News host Laura Ingraham. “And so, we’ve got to tighten up. We are tightening up, and we have some of the best technology minds looking at how this happened.” 

“We made a mistake. We’re moving forward, and we’re going to continue to knock it out of the park for this president.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Trump FDA pick clears Senate vote after flipping vaccine question on Dem senator

President Donald Trump’s choice to lead the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Johns Hopkins School of Medicine professor Dr. Marty Makary, was confirmed in the Senate on Tuesday.

His confirmation was cemented just hours after he cleared one last procedural test vote earlier in the evening. 

The Senate voted 56-44 to invoke cloture on the nomination prior to his final confirmation.

Makary, a former Fox News medical contributor, went before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) earlier this month and answered various questions on vaccines, chronic illness, food safety and abortion. 

TOP DEM USED SAME APP USED IN ATLANTIC SCANDAL TO SET UP CONTACT WITH STEELE DOSSIER AUTHOR

During his hearing, the nominee faced scrutiny over an FDA vaccine meeting that was reportedly postponed at the last minute. 

“So if you are confirmed, will you commit to immediately reschedule that FDA Vaccine Advisory Committee meeting to get the expert views?” Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., asked Makary at the time. 

He responded that he “would reevaluate which topics deserve a convening of the advisory committee members on [Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee] and which may not require a convening.” 

When this response wasn’t good enough for Murray, Makary flipped the question, telling her to confront the Biden administration. “Well, you can ask the Biden administration that chose not to convene the committee meeting for the COVID vaccine booster,” he said. 

‘STOP THEM!’: DEMOCRAT CLASHES WITH TRUMP SOCIAL SECURITY NOMINEE OVER DOGE ACCESS

He was referring to the Biden administration in 2021 pushing through FDA approval for a COVID-19 booster for everyone over the age of 18. 

“The FDA did not hold a meeting of the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee on these actions,” read a press release at the time, “as the agency previously convened the committee for extensive discussions regarding the use of booster doses of COVID-19 vaccines and, after review of both Pfizer’s and Moderna’s EUA requests, the FDA concluded that the requests do not raise questions that would benefit from additional discussion by committee members.”

CAN CONGRESS DEFUND FEDERAL COURTS WITH KEY TRUMP BUDGET PROCESS?

Committee member Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, criticized the administration’s move, saying, “We’re being asked to approve this as a three-dose vaccine for people 16 years of age and older, without any clear evidence if the third dose for a younger person when compared to an elderly person is of value.”

CHUCK SCHUMER FACING ‘UPHILL FIGHT’ AMID LEADERSHIP DOUBTS: ‘MATTER OF WHEN, NOT IF’

Makary has long been a critic of the administration he will now lead. He wrote an opinion piece in 2021, calling for “fresh leadership at the FDA to change the culture at the agency and promote scientific advancement, not hinder it.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“We now have a generational opportunity in American healthcare,” he said at his hearing. “President Trump and Secretary Kennedy’s focus on healthy foods has galvanized a grassroots movement in America. Childhood obesity is not a willpower problem, and the rise of early-onset Alzheimer’s is not a genetic cause. We should be, and we will, be addressing food as it impacts our health.”

Woman learns hard lesson after attacking man wearing MAGA hat

Bystander video of a woman launching into a MAGA hat wearer, literally, in the New York City subway has gone viral.

The unidentified woman is caught on camera calling the man wearing a red “Make America Great Again” hat a “racist.”

“If you f—-ing voted for Trump, you’re a racist!” she shouts in the video while pointing at the passenger wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat. “He’s a racist!” she added.

TRUMP SAYS HE HAS ‘NOT HEARD’ FROM MAINE GOV. MILLS SINCE SPAT ABOUT TRANSGENDERS IN SPORTS, DEMANDS APOLOGY

“How can I be racist?” asked the man in response, turning to his friend in the subway car.

“Just watch the news,” she added.

The man replied, “I am highly educated.”

“Oh, are you? Then why are you wearing that hat?” she asked while pointing in the man’s face. “Only uneducated people wear that hat.”

TRUMP RIPS ‘LOSER’ TIM WALZ FOR HURTING DEMS IN 2024 ELECTION

Once the train reaches its stop, the man runs out of the subway car as the woman gives chase, seeking to remove his MAGA hat. But in her attempt to snatch the hat off his head with one big leap, the woman falls flat on her face as the man runs away.

The video, shared by X, currently has nearly 4 million views.

One commentator on X wrote, “Instant karma you, you said it right.”

Another user added, “She’s the perfect definition of the Left. Thank you lady, for using yourself to make us laugh.”

Make America Great Again hats made their debut in 2016 when President Donald Trump first ran for office. Currently, a “MAGA 45-47 Red Hat” costs $40 on the Trump WinRed portal and “shipping could be delayed… due to high demand by President Trump’s amazing supporters.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Data guru offers a ‘reality check’ for those underestimating Trump’s popularity

CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten offered viewers a “reality check” on President Donald Trump’s favorability Tuesday. 

While the media focuses on protests of the Trump administration’s DOGE cuts and immigration enforcement, Americans seem to be more approving of the president.

Trump’s net favorability rating continues to be negative, but Enten suggested looking at the polling in a different way to account for Trump’s numbers historically being underestimated. 

“I think sometimes it’s important to do a little bit of a reality check and take a little different spin at the numbers,” Enten said. “Because all we talk about is how unpopular Donald Trump is, but in reality, he‘s basically more popular than he was at any point in term number one and more popular than he was when he won election back in November of 2024.”

CNN STUNNED BY ‘SHOCKING’ POLL NUMBERS SHOWING PUBLIC SUPPORT FOR DOGE SPENDING CUTS

“I think it‘s very important to compare him to himself, to understand he‘s actually more popular now than he was when he won, or certainly where he was at this point back in his first term,” Enten said. According to his aggregate numbers, Trump has a net favorability rating of -4 now, compared to -7 when he won in November, and -10 towards the start of his first term in March 2017.

“So when you compare Trump against himself, he‘s actually closer to the apex than he is to the bottom of the trough. And of course, that‘s so important because Donald Trump, historically speaking, has had his numbers underestimated,” he said.

Enten argued another metric is even more revealing about where Trump stands with the American people.

“Let‘s take a look at the percentage of the country who say that we‘re on the right track. It‘s actually a very high percentage when you compare it to some historical numbers,” he said.

“According to Marist, 45% say that we‘re on the right track. That‘s the second-highest that Marist has measured since 2009. How about NBC News? Forty-four percent, that‘s the highest since 2004,” he said. “The bottom line is the percentage of Americans who say we‘re on the right track is through the roof.”

CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST MEDIA AND CULTURE NEWS

He also showed the Democratic vs. Republican congressional ballot margin, noting that numbers in March 2025 are similar to previous years when Republicans won control of Congress.

“The bottom line is, yes, Donald Trump‘s approval rating is lower than compared to a lot of his predecessors, but it‘s higher when compared to himself,” Enten summarized. “A lot of folks say the country is on the right track, and the generic congressional ballot looks a heck of a lot more like when Republicans win than when Democrats win.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Maxine Waters says ‘we better just take a look’ at deporting first lady Melania Trump

Democratic California Rep. Maxine Waters suggested President Donald Trump should investigate and potentially deport first lady Melania Trump during an anti-DOGE protest in Los Angeles over the weekend. 

“When he [Trump] talks about birthright, and he’s going to undo the fact that the Constitution allows those who are born here, even if the parents are undocumented, they have a right to stay in America. If he wants to start looking so closely to find those who were born here and their parents were undocumented, maybe he ought to first look at Melania,” Waters was seen saying from the stage of a rally in Los Angeles, various videos posted to social media show. 

“We don’t know whether or not her parents were documented. And maybe we better just take a look,” she added. 

Melania Trump was born in the former Yugoslavia and became a U.S. citizen in 2006, according to official government biographies of the first lady. She is the first U.S. first lady to become a naturalized citizen, and the second first lady to be born outside of the U.S. – following President John Quincy Adams’ wife Louisa Catherine Johnson Adams, who was born in London in 1775. 

MELANIA TRUMP SPEAKS ON CAPITOL HILL FOR FIRST TIME IN ROUNDTABLE FOCUSED ON PUNISHING REVENGE PORN

The first lady sponsored her parents, who were also from current-day Slovenia, for green cards and then citizenship after securing her own citizenship, the New York Times reported in 2018. Viktor and Amalija Knavs, the first lady’s parents, officially became U.S. citizens in 2018. Amalija Knavs died in 2024, while her father Viktor Knavs has been spotted with the Trump family during public events in recent months, including sitting next to first son Barron Trump during the inauguration. 

HAKEEM JEFFRIES’ CALL TO FIGHT TRUMP AGENDA ‘IN THE STREETS’ SPARKS BACKLASH AS A ‘MAXINE WATERS MOMENT’

Waters was referring to President Donald Trump signing an executive order on his first day in office that bans birthright citizenship. The executive order works to clarify the 14th Amendment, which states, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”

MAXINE WATERS, HOUSE DEMS RIPPED FOR ‘UNHINGED’ CLASH WITH SECURITY GUARD AT EDUCATION DEPT
 

The Trump EO seeks to narrow the scope of birthright citizenship to ban individuals who were born to illegal immigrant parents, or those who were here legally but on temporary non-immigrant visas. 

MELANIA TRUMP ANNOUNCES RETURN OF WHITE HOUSE EASTER EGG ROLL

The executive order is currently tied up in court, with Trump taking the case to the U.S. Supreme Court last week. 

Waters joined the protest in Los Angeles on Saturday, where hundreds gathered in protest of the Trump administration and Department of Government Efficiency’s efforts to slim down the size of the federal government, including auditing federal agencies in search of overspending, fraud and corruption. Protesters marched to the VA hospital on Los Angeles’ Wilshire Boulevard as part of the rally, the Los Angeles Times reported. 

MELANIA TRUMP’S LIFE WITH PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: SEE THE PHOTOS

“We are here because we are not going to let Trump, we’re not going to let Elon Musk, his co-president, or anybody else take the United States Constitution down,” Waters added in her address to the crowd on Saturday. 

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP AND MELANIA TRUMP’S 20TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY: SEE THE PHOTOS

Clips of Waters’ comments on the first lady are spreading like wildfire on social media, including on TikTok and X, as conservative critics slam the left-wing California lawmaker. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Fox News Digital reached out to Waters’ office for additional comment on the matter Tuesday morning, but did not immediately receive a reply. 

President Trump orders states to require proof of citizenship to vote

President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed an executive order requiring people to provide proof of American citizenship when they register to vote and demanding that all ballots be reviewed by Election Day.

The order requires government-issued proof of U.S. citizenship on its voter registration forms, directs the attorney general to enter into information-sharing agreements with state election officials to identify cases of election fraud or other election law violations and conditions federal election-related funds on states complying with federal election integrity measures.

“There are other steps that we will be taking in the coming weeks,” Trump said just before signing the order. “We think we’ll be able to end up getting fair elections.”

BLUE STATE’S TOP COURT STRIKES DOWN LAW ALLOWING NONCITIZENS TO VOTE

“It’s an honor to sign this one,” he added. “I sign all of them, but to sign this one is a great honor.”

The U.S. has failed “to enforce basic and necessary election protections,” the order states. 

Election experts immediately criticized the move, saying it would disenfranchise millions of voters. 

“This executive order would block tens of millions of American citizens from voting,” the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University wrote on X. “Presidents have no authority to do this. This order, like the SAVE Act now before Congress, would hurt voters and suppress the vote.”

The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, known as the SAVE Act, is a bill being pushed by Republicans that would make sweeping changes to voter registration, including requiring voters to present documents proving U.S. citizenship.

PA WOMAN CHARGED WITH TRYING TO REGISTER DEAD PEOPLE, INCLUDING OWN FATHER, TO VOTE

Documentary proof of citizenship includes a U.S. passport, a REAL ID or military, state or federally-issued identification indicating American citizenship.

“Free, fair, and honest elections unmarred by fraud, errors, or suspicion are fundamental to maintaining our constitutional Republic,” the order states. ” Yet the United States has not adequately enforced Federal election requirements that, for example, prohibit States from counting ballots received after Election Day or prohibit non-citizens from registering to vote.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Under the terms of the order, Trump directed the Election Assistance Commission to change the federal voter registration form to require government-issued proof of citizenship. 

The order also attempts to bar states from counting mail ballots election officials receive after Election Day.

Actress shocks social media with response to Meghan Markle feud rumors

Gwyneth Paltrow and Meghan Markle had a little fun Tuesday, joking about their supposed feud after the “Shakespeare in Love” actress said she didn’t know her Montecito neighbor “at all.”

“I genuinely do not understand this at all whatsoever,” the Goop founder said in a video on her Instagram story while answering fans for an “Ask me a question” segment.

A fan asked, “Are you comprehending the Meghan Markle beef that social media says you two have?” 

MEGHAN MARKLE’S NEIGHBOR GWYNETH PALTROW ‘DOESN’T KNOW HER AT ALL,’ WEIGHS IN ON ‘ATTEMPT’ AT LIFESTYLE BRAND

Paltrow then panned her phone to the left, revealing a shrugging Markle sitting at her kitchen table eating a piece of pie before starting to laugh. Markle also posted the video to her Instagram story.    

The 52-year-old Paltrow recently did an interview with Vanity Fair in which she told the magazine, “I don’t know Meghan and Harry,” who also live in Montecito, California. “I mean, I’ve met Meghan, who seems really lovely, but I don’t know her at all.

“Maybe I’ll try to get through their security detail and bring them a pie.”

MEGHAN MARKLE’S NETFLIX RATINGS DISAPPOINT AFTER DUCHESS PLAYS ‘BLAND’ BETTY CROCKER: EXPERTS

Paltrow, who also found her way to the lifestyle space after an acting career, told Vanity Fair she wasn’t overly familiar with Markle’s widely panned Netflix show, “With Love, Meghan,” or her lifestyle brand “As Ever” but was inclined to support her. 

Referring to the backlash Markle has received, Paltrow said when “there’s noise about certain women in the culture, I do have, always, a strong instinct to stand up for them.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER

“I was raised to see other women as friends, not foes. I think there’s always more than enough to go around. Everybody deserves an attempt at everything that they want to try.”

Paltrow also faced her fair share of skepticism when she started Goop, which has since become successful. 

LIKE WHAT YOU’RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS

Fans claimed Paltrow was throwing shade at the Duchess of Sussex over the weekend when she posted a cooking video on Instagram of her “cleaner take on a classic breakfast” that looked a little like Markle’s “With Love, Meghan” show. 

“Love this. No fake house, fake kitchen, fake hair extensions, fake friends just your beautiful true self. Such a breath of fresh air to see,” one commenter wrote on the video. 

APP USERS CLICK HERE FOR POST

Another wrote, “With Shade, Gwyneth… I see what you did there.” 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Paltrow frequently posts cooking videos that she hashtags #boyfriendbreakfast. 

Disney reportedly scrambled to control actress’ social media posts

Producers behind Disney’s “Snow White” film struggled over the backlash caused by the film’s star Rachel Zegler’s social media posts, Variety reported.

Variety reported “Snow White” producer Marc Platt personally got involved with the backlash surrounding Zegler after she shared an anti-Israel post while promoting the film in August.

“And always remember, free Palestine,” she wrote.

Reportedly, the studio grew concerned about this post after death threats against Zegler’s Israeli co-star Gal Gadot spiked at the time, leading the company to pay for extra security.

CRITICS SLAM ‘SNOW WHITE’ AS FILM ON TRACK TO BE LOWEST DISNEY LIVE-ACTION REMAKE IN STUDIO’S HISTORY

“She didn’t understand the repercussions of her actions as far as what that meant for the film, for Gal, for anyone,” an insider told Variety.

Platt allegedly stepped in again after Zegler lashed out against people who voted for President Donald Trump after he won the 2024 election in November.

“May Trump supporters and Trump voters and Trump himself never know peace,” Zegler wrote on Instagram, adding, “F— Donald Trump.”

Zegler later apologized for the post after working with a “social media guru” paid by Disney’s team to vet her social media posts leading up to the film’s premiere, according to the report.

One anonymous top agent also told Variety that Disney had failed to properly control the narrative from the start after Zegler’s initial comments criticizing the original 1937 “Snow White” film in 2022 went viral.

“The first time she shoots her mouth off, you nip it in the bud,” the agent said.

The movie has since been plagued with several controversies, including using CGI to portray the seven dwarves, delaying the film’s release for a year and eventually scaling back the film’s Hollywood premiere.

Fox News Digital reached out to Disney and Zegler’s team for comment.

DISNEY SCALES BACK PREMIERE OF CONTROVERSIAL LIVE ACTION ‘SNOW WHITE’ REMAKE

“Snow White” opened in the U.S. and Canada on Friday to $43 million in ticket sales, still coming in first place at the domestic box office, according to studio estimates, the Los Angeles Times reported. It cost an estimated $250 million to make. The movie grossed $44 million overseas.

The opening weekend was a disappointment as it was projected as recently as last month to make upwards of $85 million domestically in its opening weekend, but projections slid downward.

Critics have not been kind to the live-action release of “Snow White.” The film currently has a 42% Rotten Tomatoes score, meaning the majority of reviews have been negative.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP