Jon Stewart, host of The Daily Show, poked fun at the recent leak of classified military plans, joking that the U.S. national security advisor was “distracted by The White Lotus” when he accidentally shared sensitive information with a journalist.
The leak was revealed by Jeffrey Goldberg, Editor-in-Chief of The Atlantic, who reported on Monday that members of the Trump administration mistakenly added him to a Signal group chat discussing a classified military operation targeting Houthi positions in Yemen.
Stewart mocked the security breach on the March 24 episode of his show, saying, “Oopsie poopsie! Back in my day, if you wanted leaked war documents, you had to build sources, meet in dark garages, and gain trust. Now, you just wait for the national security director to get distracted by The White Lotus while setting up his Yemen bombing group chat.”
The group chat was reportedly created by White House National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, who unintentionally invited Goldberg just days before U.S. airstrikes targeted Houthi positions in Yemen. Stewart added humorously, “By the way, I might be in this group chat, I don’t know. I don’t check my group chats.”
Stewart continued with a particularly striking detail, quoting the U.S. Defense Secretary’s message in the chat: “We are currently clean on OPSEC,” explaining that OPSEC refers to operational security. “He said that in a group chat. A group chat with a journalist,” Stewart remarked.
Goldberg, the journalist, revealed that he did not initially believe the information was real until the bombing occurred in Yemen. This statement prompted a somber reaction from the audience.
A spokesperson for the White House later confirmed that the text thread was authentic.
In a separate incident, Fox News reporters questioned U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth about the leak after he landed at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. The reporter asked if the leaked information about the operation was classified, and Hegseth responded dismissively. Laughing to himself, he disparaged Goldberg, calling him a “deceitful” journalist who regularly peddles hoaxes.
Hegseth continued his critique of Goldberg, claiming, “This is the guy that peddles in garbage. This is what he does.”
Despite the controversy, Hegseth defended the actions of the U.S. military in Yemen, emphasizing the bravery of U.S. troops and the danger they faced, saying, “Our sailors were getting shot at as targets, and our ships couldn’t sail through.”
