Latest news with #JeffreyGoldberg
Fox News
28-05-2025
- Business
- Fox News
Atlantic editor doesn't 'understand' the narrative that media covered for Biden's health
The editor-in-chief of The Atlantic says he doesn't "understand" the "narrative" that the media covered for former President Joe Biden's health. "I don't understand how this narrative is developed that the media was covering for Biden," The Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg said Friday in an interview he did with CNN's Jake Tapper and Axios' Alex Thompson's book following the release of their book, "Original Sin." The book looks into the efforts made by top Biden aides and allies to hide the truth about Biden's mental and physical health, providing a depiction of a president who was routinely confused and disorientated during his term. "I think what might be going on here is the lack of understanding about how reporting works," Goldberg said. "In order to prove that he's diminished, you have to have people, sources inside telling you this." In response, Tapper pointed to the sources he and Thompson spoke to. "What Alex and I have been able to do, which is after the election, all those Democrats, we talked to more than 200 sources for this book, almost all of them Democrats, almost all of them after the election, who were telling us what was really going on behind the scenes," Tapper said. "And the anecdotes and the concerns that we bring forward in this book is investigative journalism, and that is different from observational punditry." Thompson also mentioned the bombshell report from the Wall Street Journal about how some lawmakers began questioning Biden's health, which was met with fierce criticism by Democrats and some in the media. "I mean, look at the reaction to The Wall Street Journal story in June of 2024, just weeks before the debate," Thompson said. "There are a lot of reporters that sort of threw shade at that story. There was not as much solidarity." Thompson, as well as Goldberg, pointed to The Atlantic's June 2022 story titled, "Why Biden Shouldn't Run in 2024," which said, "Biden is by no means the more eloquent character he was in his younger days. It can be painful to watch him give prepared speeches. His tone can be tentative, and certain sentences can become hopscotching journeys. His aides in the room look visibly nervous at times." Goldberg said he is not trying to make "excuses" for the media, however said journalists can only do so much after they write a story. "Well, you can lead people to stories that you write, but you can't make them read them," Goldberg said. "And I think that's part of the issue. I'm not trying to make excuses. You've been very forthright about your critique of softness on the part of the media on the question." He also asked Tapper about the sentiment from Biden's staff that he would be physically able to take on emergency situations at 3:00 A.M. "We have cabinet secretaries in the book, as you know, who are telling us that by 2024, they do not have faith that Joe Biden could be relied upon for that 3:00 A.M. phone call, and that's chilling, chilling," Tapper said. Tapper also said President Donald Trump is not being transparent about his health records. "I don't think that the press should cover any president going forward, A, without demanding full and complete transparency about health records, which we're not getting from Trump," Tapper said. "We still don't know why he went to Walter Reed in 2019. And I think that we need to be skeptical of everything that we are told by people in power."
The Guardian
04-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Australia's home affairs department has let staff use Signal since Covid lockdowns, documents show
The home affairs department began allowing staff to use Signal in response to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, and even advised employees how to turn on disappearing messages, documents obtained by Guardian Australia reveal. The use of the app by government officials in Australia has come into focus after the global fallout from revelations that top US officials discussed operational details of a plan to strike Yemen in a Signal group chat that accidentally included the Atlantic's editor Jeffrey Goldberg. Signal is known for its privacy and disappearing message features. An American government watchdog group is suing the US officials, arguing that using an app with disappearing messages could put it in breach of legal obligations around record retention. Guardian Australia sought policy documents held by home affairs – the department responsible for national security – on the use of Signal and other encrypted apps by staff, using freedom of information laws. In an April 2020 guide provided to staff as the government grappled with the working-from-home requirement of the Covid lockdowns, the department stated that Signal had been approved for use by staff but said 'official decisions made on this platform must be documented and saved to [the records management system]'. However, the policy document lists one of the benefits of Signal as allowing messages to be sent with an expiry time, 'after which the messages are deleted from the sender and recipient devices'. As 'additional security advice' staff were instructed on how to turn on disappearing messages in Signal. Staff were also instructed not to enable chat backup. A separate policy document for email, instant messaging and social media stated that messaging applications 'are not appropriate for recording or storing records' and advised employees to 'extract, take a screenshot or take note of any official business conducted on a mobile messaging application' for recording. 'Workers are responsible for ensuring that the settings used on devices do not erase records automatically before workers can save the records', it read. Documents outlining which apps were approved for communicating were highly redacted, with the department arguing that releasing the information would adversely affect the operations of the agency. A home affairs spokesperson said records created by the department must be managed in accordance with records policy, and Signal messages 'may be records of the commonwealth, depending on the content of a message'. The spokesperson indicated the records retained could go beyond just official decisions made on Signal. 'Discussion of a decision may be a record if it was created in the course of carrying out the business of the department.' In March, the home affairs secretary, Stephanie Foster, admitted to using disappearing messages in Signal in 'some cases' in her role. 'I use messaging apps – Signal included – for purposes that one might typically use a phone call for,' she said. 'So, to set up a meeting, or to ask if someone's free.' But Foster said she complied with record-keeping requirements. In March, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) and the National Archives of Australia released an investigation into how agencies were using encrypted apps and what security and record rules were in place for work-related conversations occurring on them. The report found that, of the 22 government agencies that responded to a survey on encrypted app use, 16 permitted its use by staff for work purposes. Of those, just eight had policies on the use of the apps, and five of those addressed security requirements for communicating on the apps. The National Archives said home affairs' advice to staff was consistent with its own guidelines, including allowing disappearing messages. 'The feature of disappearing messages can be used in conjunction with records management policies and guidelines,' a NAA spokesperson said. 'Agencies should retain or destroy records in line with relevant records authorities or the agency's normal administrative practice.' This process allows agencies to destroy 'certain types of low-value and short-term information in the normal course of business', the spokesperson said. A spokesperson for the OAIC said messages should be subject to FoI if those messages supported the business of an agency. 'Agencies should consider the importance of upholding this right to access information in their records management policies.' After the bombshell Atlantic report, it was reported that the US defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, had shared sensitive operational information about strikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen on a private Signal group chat he set up himself to communicate with his wife, brother, personal lawyer and nine associates. It was also reported Hegseth had an unsecured internet connection set up in his Pentagon office so that he could bypass government security protocols and use the Signal messaging app on a personal computer.
The Hill
28-04-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Trump faces The Atlantic
12:30 Report is The Hill's midday newsletter. Subscribe here or in the box below: Happy Monday to a sleepy Washington after a weekend of White House Correspondents' Association dinner events. In today's issue: Trump's interview with The Atlantic (!) White House focuses on border at 100 days Johnson huddles with Trump The Philadelphia Eagles visit the White House 🦅 Viral photo of Trump, Zelensky in Vatican City Bill Belichick's awkward interview THE FIRST 100 DAYS New interview just dropped: Do you remember last month when President Trump bashed The Atlantic's Ashley Parker for not being 'capable of doing a fair and unbiased interview?' This happened during that infamous saga over The Atlantic's editor in chief accidentally being added to a Signal group chat discussing sensitive military plans. Well, a Trump sit-down had been in the works until word got around the Trump circle. The president posted on Truth Social at the time that the interview was canceled … until Parker and her colleague Michael Scherer got his personal cellphone number. This is incredible: 'So at 10:45 on a Saturday morning in late March, we called him on his cellphone. (Don't ask how we got his number. All we can say is that the White House staff have imperfect control over Trump's personal communication devices.) The president was at the country club he owns in Bedminster, New Jersey. The number that flashed on his screen was an unfamiliar one, but he answered anyway. 'Who's calling?' he asked.' Then, the interview was back on the books — and it just published. This read is well worth your time: ''I Run the Country and the World' Donald Trump believes he's invincible. But the cracks are beginning to show.' WHAT WE LEARNED: Trump is having more 'fun' this time: Trump said he's 'having a lot of fun' — and a Trump ally said he has a 'twinkle in his eye.' Trump said he 'had all these crooked guys' during his first administration. What Trump told his staff after the Signal group chat controversy: 'Maybe don't use Signal, okay?' Trump on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth: ' I think he's gonna get it together. … I had a talk with him, a positive talk, but I had a talk with him.' Trump's strategy to take on media companies: ''You know at some point, they give up,' [Trump] said, referring to media owners generally and—we suspected—[Washington Post owner Jeff] Bezos specifically. 'At some point they say, No más, no más.' He laughed quietly.' BY THE WAY: Trump posted about The Atlantic's editor in chief Jeffrey Goldberg — yes, the person mistakenly added to the national security group chat — ahead of the interview, saying he planned to meet with him too. The president said he did the interview with the magazine 'out of curiosity, and as a competition with myself.' TIDBIT: Trump's first White House press secretary Sean Spicer criticized the decision to speak with the publication. Spicer: '[Trump] firmly believes … that he can win people over. But anyone who believes that Jeffrey Goldberg, The Atlantic, or Ashley Parker are going to write anything positive is nuts.' 📹 Watch the clip (posted by Michael Scherer) MORE FROM TRUMP'S MEDIA TOUR: ABC News's Terry Moran interviews Trump, airing Tuesday at 8 p.m. EDT. Trump is expected to call into a NewsNation town hall moderated by Chris Cuomo on Wednesday night. Pivot! President Trump is one day away from the conclusion of his first 100 days back in office, a traditional marker of a president's first sprint. His net approval rating is negative 9 points, per The New York Times's poll tracker, and the economy has been a bit shaky. Republicans are raring to pass his agenda in Congress this year but face enormous hurdles advancing a sprawling bill in the House and Senate. The Trump team tries to steer the focus: Despite his rocky deportation effort, Trump World believes his immigration agenda is his biggest asset. That was evident this morning with a rare 8:30 a.m. White House press briefing with border czar Tom Homan. Trump will sign an executive order later today to target sanctuary cities. Homan and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt previewed the order during the early-morning presser. ^ Speaking of that rocky deportation effort: Homan addressed Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the man who was wrongly deported to El Salvador. 'I don't accept the term 'error.' … There was an oversight,' he told reporters this morning. 📹 Watch the early-morning press briefing Spotted on the White House lawn: The Trump administration prominently displayed posters of people who have been arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). They're all over the White House lawn. 📸 Posters on the White House lawn This comes after the Trump administration over the weekend touted nearly 800 arrests from a multiday operation in Florida and more than 100 arrests at an underground nightclub in Colorado. ALSO OVER THE WEEKEND: Trump attended Pope Francis's funeral on Saturday in Vatican City. He met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in St. Peter's Basilica, and the photo is extraordinary. 📸 See for yourself ON CAPITOL HILL Ready, set, GO!: Republican lawmakers are back in Washington today, kicking off a four-week sprint to pass the president's ambitious legislative agenda. The goal has been to pass the 'one big, beautiful bill' by Memorial Day😅 — and that tight timeline may keep GOP leadership up at night. To that end: Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is meeting with Trump in the Oval Office this afternoon to strategize. The biggest hurdle: Getting enough Republicans on board with spending cuts for Medicaid and other safety-net programs. Program cuts could be politically disastrous for some members. Johnson may be updating his expectations: Politico reports that Johnson is adjusting his Memorial Day goal of passing Congress to just clearing it in the *House* by the end of May. The Senate now is also reportedly hoping to pass it before the July 4 recess. Happening this week: At least five House committees are scheduled to take a look at their portions of the bill this week. Three committees are meeting on Tuesday and two others on Wednesday. What to expect, via The Hill's Mychael Schnell. COMING UP The House and Senate are in. President Trump and Vice President Vance are in Washington. (All times EDT) 12:30 p.m. Trump and Vance have lunch together. 2 p.m. Trump meets with Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) in the Oval Office 2 p.m. NASA astronaut Donald Pettit holds a news conference. 💻 Livestream 4 p.m. Trump hosts the Philadelphia Eagles at the White House to celebrate their 2025 Super Bowl win. 💻 Livestream 5 p.m. Trump signs executive orders. 5:30 p.m. The Senate holds a vote. 📆 Today's agenda 6:30 p.m. First and last House votes. 📆 Today's agenda Wednesday: Former Vice President Kamala Harris delivers her first public remarks since leaving office in January. A source told The Hill's Alex Gangitano that she will jab at Trump. Just announced — May 7: The conclave to elect the next pope. INTERNET BUZZ 🥧 Celebrate: Today is National Blueberry Pie Day. 📺 I have so many more follow-up questions now: Bill Belichick sat down for an interview with 'CBS Sunday Morning.' Journalist Tony Dokoupil asked how he and his 24-year-old girlfriend met. His girlfriend, who was off-camera, jumped in and said, 'We are not talking about this.' 👀 It was pretty awkward. 📹 Watch the clip AND FINALLY: Because I missed all of you and have been saving this video, here is definitive evidence that our dogs do judge us … but in the best possible way.
Atlantic
26-04-2025
- Politics
- Atlantic
Trump's First 100 Days
Since Donald Trump's return to the White House, his administration has overhauled core institutions and norms. Panelists on Washington Week With The Atlantic joined to discuss the first 100 days of the president's second term—and what may come next for the country. On the subject of Trump's impact as president since his inauguration, The Atlantic 's editor in chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, posed a question to the panelists: 'What is the most consequential action he's taken, or what's the biggest change we've seen in American governance?' 'The difference between Trump now and Trump previously is one thing I've been struck by, which is just how confident, bold, aggressive, creative he has been at sort of wielding the levers of powers at his disposal to bend, you know, the city, the country, and the world to his will,' Atlantic staff writer Ashley Parker said last night. 'Trump traditionally is someone who is trying to get through the minute, the hour, the day,' Parker continued. 'He is trying to win over the person directly in front of him.' But the president also now appears to be tolerating more criticism than he might have in his first term: On tariffs, Parker explained, 'he had the stomach, at least initially, for more pain as the markets plummeted and as he was getting, you know, lobbied behind the scenes, and some pretty public criticism.' Trump, she added, 'stood by that much longer than I would have expected for someone who is traditionally pinballing between whatever is politically expedient in that moment.' Joining the editor in chief of The Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg, to discuss this and more: Kaitlan Collins, the chief White House correspondent at CNN; Stephen Hayes, the editor of The Dispatch; Asma Khalid, a White House correspondent for NPR; and Ashley Parker, a staff writer at The Atlantic. Watch the full episode here.
Indian Express
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Months after Signal group chat leak, Trump announces he'll be interviewed by The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg
US President Donald Trump announced that he will sit for an interview with The Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg on Thursday, despite accusing Goldberg of publishing 'many fictional stories' about him over the years. Goldberg was behind last month's widely discussed report about accidentally being added to a private Signal chat involving Trump administration officials allegedly discussing an attack in Yemen —an incident dubbed 'SignalGate.' In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote, 'Later today I will be meeting with, of all people, Jeffrey Goldberg, the Editor of The Atlantic, and the person responsible for many fictional stories about me, including the made-up HOAX on 'Suckers and Losers' and, SignalGate, something he was somewhat more 'successful' with.' Trump noted that Michael Scherer and Ashley Parker—Atlantic writers he described as 'not exactly pro-Trump'—will also be part of the interview team. According to Trump, the article they plan to write is tentatively titled 'The Most Consequential President of this Century.' 'I am doing this interview out of curiosity, and as a competition with myself, just to see if it's possible for The Atlantic to be 'truthful,'' Trump wrote. 'Are they capable of writing a fair story on 'TRUMP'? The way I look at it, what can be so bad – I WON!'
