Last week, top security officials in the Trump administration sent messages in a group chat regarding upcoming airstrikes in Yemen. The officials in the group chat were about who would be expected in a group chat discussing war plans — National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Vice President J.D. Vance, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, among others — were in the chat. However, one key character stands out among the rest: editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg. Goldberg would go on to publish an article titled “The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans.”
Following the article’s publication, Goldberg received backlash from both members of the group chat and others close to President Donald Trump. Waltz denied knowing Goldberg and called him “the bottom scum of journalists.” Hegseth claimed, “Nobody was texting war plans.” Donald Trump Jr. criticized Goldberg’s affiliations with the Democratic Party. In response, Goldberg said “I don’t get bullied,” a simple statement that journalists must remember now more than ever.
The leaked messages and the backlash Goldberg faces are a microcosm of a broader phenomenon playing out directly in front of every American’s face. The journalist acts as a watchdog of the government. The government does not like this and lobs threats and scorn at the journalists in an attempt to denounce and silence them. The Trump administration’s branding relies on distrust of the media and always has, but Trump’s second term has brought more extreme measures. This includes banning the Associated Press from the White House press pool.
Censorship is defined as “the changing or the suppression or prohibition of speech or writing that is deemed subversive of the common good.” Accusations of censorship should never be made lightly but censorship should be called out in all forms. Attempting to ban one of the most trusted news outlets in the world from the White House and then degrade the credibility of the editor-in-chief of a renowned, historic literary and cultural magazine because of the Trump administration’s own mistake should cause alarm in anyone who believes in freedom of speech.
Anti-intellectualism and insisting trusted media is lying to the American people is one thing. Actively suppressing journalists is another. Attempts to intimidate Goldberg go beyond either.
As the third month of Trump’s second term begins, Americans are already getting whiplash from how quickly changes in policy are unfolding while simultaneously being told that they cannot trust anything they read. However, the minute a politician as powerful as the U.S. president says to stop reading the news is the precise moment it becomes crucial to devour as much information as a person can.
The response to Goldberg should be a signal to journalists everywhere to remain cautious but unwavering in their craft. Everybody’s credibility is on the line and support is dwindling. It is to keep heads down and work for the truth just as hard as they work against it.
Editorials represent the majority opinion of The Post's executive editors: Editor-in-Chief Alyssa Cruz, Managing Editor Madalyn Blair and Equity Director McKenna Christy. Post editorials are independent of the publication's news coverage. The Post can be reached via editor@thepostathens.com.
