Emojis, European ‘freeloading’ and JD Vance’s Yemen ‘mistake’ alert – takeaways from US security leak

The news was met with outrage and calls for an investigation in the US, with Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer calling it “one of the most stunning breaches of military intelligence I have read about in a very, very long time,” The Guardian reported.

Signal is not approved by the US government for sharing sensitive information. Others in the chat included the Trump adviser Stephen Miller; Trump’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles; and the key Trump envoy Steve Witkoff.

While revealing the Signal chat security leak, Goldberg redacted some of the most sensitive information and suggested that some of the knowledge in the group text could be used to harm the American military if made public, and declined to name an active intelligence operative who was part of the small Signal group, The Guardian reported.

It was confirmed by Brian Hughes, a spokesperson for the national security council, who told the magazine: “This appears to be an authentic message chain, and we are reviewing how an inadvertent number was added to the chain.”

Hughes added: “The thread is a demonstration of the deep and thoughtful policy coordination between senior officials. The ongoing success of the Houthi operation demonstrates that there were no threats to troops or national security.”

Here are three key takeaways from the conversation:

Aside from top-secret operational information on strikes, the chat also laid bare the American disdain for Europe, which JD Vance first articulated during his speech at the Munich Security Conference in Germany.

1. ‘A Mistake’

In the chat, an account appearing to be JD Vance disagreed with Donald Trump, suggesting that the planned strikes on the Houthis were a “mistake” and determined to push that angle as a reason to postpone the strike.

“I think we are making a mistake,” wrote Vance, adding how much he hated “bailing Europe again”, and further claiming that the strikes on Houthis and the subsequent unblocking of trade routes would benefit Europe most.

He further added that while only 3 per cent of US trade goes through the Suez canal, 40 per cent of European trade does. “There is a real risk that the public doesn’t understand this or why it’s necessary,” he added. “The strongest reason to do this is, as [Trump] said, to send a message.”

Vance was contending that the United States is once again doing what Europe should. It is consistent with his past arguments that the US is overpaying for European security and the derision he displayed toward European allies (almost certainly the UK and France) when he described them as “some random country that hasn’t fought a war in 30 or 40 years”. (Both fought in Afghanistan and the UK fought alongside the US in Iraq).

He further argued that Trump wasn’t aware of how “inconsistent” the strikes would be with his message on Europe.

“I am not sure the president is aware how inconsistent this is with his message on Europe right now. There’s a further risk that we see a moderate to severe spike in oil prices. I am willing to support the consensus of the team and keep these concerns to myself. But there is a strong argument for delaying this a month, doing the messaging work on why this matters, seeing where the economy is, etc,” Vance’s message read.

2. ‘Pathetic’ Europe

Later in the conversation, an account identified as Trump’s national security adviser, ‘Michael Waltz’ criticised the limited capabilities of European navies.

“It will have to be the United States that reopens these shipping lanes. Per the president’s request we are working with DOD and State to determine how to compile the cost associated and levy them on the Europeans,” Waltz said.

To which another account, purportedly belonging to US Defence Secretary Pete Hesgeth, condemned “European free-loading” – describing it as “PATHETIC”, and suggesting that the US is the “only ones on the planet” who could target the Houthis in this way.

Hegseth responded, “VP: I fully share your loathing of European free-loading. It’s PATHETIC. But Mike is correct, we are the only ones on the planet (on our side of the ledger) who can do this.”

JD Vance addresses the Munich Security Conference [Leah Millis/Reuters]“Nobody else even close. Question is timing. I feel like now is as good a time as any, given POTUS directive to reopen shipping lanes. I think we should go; but POTUS still retains 24 hours of decision space.”

In reality, about 20 countries are involved in the mission to protect shipping from Houthi attacks including British warships.

Other officials added that the US should clearly state to Egypt and Europe “what we expect in return”. An account claiming to be White House Chief of Staff Steve Miller commented, “We also need to figure out how to enforce such a requirement. For example, if Europe doesn’t remunerate, then what?”

3. The Emoji game 

Emojis were often utilised in official communication, however when news of the bombing broke, and Goldberg became aware, he recorded how he went back to the Signal channel.

“‘Michael Waltz’ [US national security adviser] had provided the group an update. Again, I won’t quote from this text, except to note that he described the operation as an ‘amazing job.’’’

A few minutes later, someone in the chat wrote: “A good start.”

Not long after, the account named Waltz responded with three emojis: a fist, an American flag and fire. Others soon joined in, including “MAR”, [Marco Rubio]. He wrote: “Good Job Pete and your team!!” and “Susie Wiles”. She texted: “Kudos to all – most particularly those in theater and CENTCOM! Really great. God bless.”

Earlier on, others had used the prayer emoji when the account associated with Vance said he was praying for victory.