Hillary Clinton Pens Heated Op-Ed on Signalgate: 'It's Not the Hypocrisy That Bothers Me; It's the Stupidity'

Former Secretary of State and 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has sharply criticized the Trump administration over Signalgate. In a scathing New York Times op-ed, Clinton addressed the revelations that senior officials, including Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, discussed military plans on an unsecured messaging app which also inadvertently included a The Atlantic's editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg.

Titled "This is Just Dumb", the piece focuses on what Clinton describes as a reckless approach to national security, arguing that the administration's missteps jeopardize American safety and global standing.

"It's not the hypocrisy that bothers me; it's the stupidity," Clinton starts off the article, addressing the controversy that erupted after Goldberg was inadvertently added to a Signal group chat where administration officials were discussing an upcoming military operation against the Houthis in Yemen.

The inclusion of a journalist in a classified discussion underscored what Clinton sees as a pattern of dangerous incompetence. "That's dangerous. And it's just dumb."

"Signalgate," has sparked outrage among Democratic lawmakers, many of whom are calling for Hegseth's resignation. Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy argued that "if there is zero accountability for this level of incompetence, our nation's credibility is destroyed," while House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senators Tammy Duckworth and Mark Warner echoed the, with Duckworth stating that "he needs to resign in disgrace immediately."

Hegseth has denied any wrongdoing, claiming that no classified information was shared and that the Yemen airstrikes were successful. President Donald Trump has also downplayed the incident, defending National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, who added Goldberg to the chat, and calling the incident "not serious."

Clinton, however, sees the issue as emblematic of a broader failure of leadership. She warned that the administration's approach to governance, including mass firings in key national security roles, purging diplomats, and cutting development aid, is undermining America's global standing:

"If there's a grand strategy at work here, I don't know what it is. Maybe Mr. Trump wants to return to 19th-century spheres of influence. Maybe he's just driven by personal grudges and is in way over his head. As a businessman, he bankrupted his Atlantic City casinos. Now he's gambling with the national security of the United States.

Clinton's op-ed goes on to warn that while the Signal chat blunder is alarming, it is only one symptom of what she views as a reckless dismantling of American diplomatic and military institutions. "A group chat foul will be the least of our concerns," she concluded, "and all the fist and flag emojis in the world won't save us."