The Trump Administration Falls Back on Flippancy

Officials have responded to the text-thread security failure and other weighty controversies with sass and indifference.

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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks next to President Donald Trump, in the Oval Office at the White House, in Washington, D.C., March 21, 2025.

Carlos Barria/Reuters

Defense Secretary Pete Hegsethโ€™s first impulse following the revelation that The Atlanticโ€™s editor in chief was included on a private text thread in which cabinet-level officers conducted sensitive deliberations regarding imminent U.S. military action overseas was to obfuscate.

โ€œYouโ€™re talking about a deceitful and highly discredited so-called journalist who has made a profession of peddling hoaxes time and time again,โ€ Hegseth said yesterday. โ€œThis is a guy that peddles in garbage. Itโ€™s what he does.โ€

Noah Rothman

About the Author

Noah Rothman

Noah Rothman is a senior writer at National Review. His third book, Blood and Progress: A Century of Left-Wing Violence, was published by Hachette in May 2026.

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