‘Signalgate’ proves that DC never lets a ‘crisis’ — serious or not — go to waste

Rahm Emanuel — more than being known as President Barack Obama’s chief of staff, the mayor of Chicago or even a potential presidential candidate in 2028 — might be most famous for using the phrase, “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste.” But there are plenty of people in and around D.C. who never have any intention of letting any crisis go to waste, serious or not.

As the latest example of that, we now have “Signalgate,” the “crisis” du jour, where some members of President Trump’s national security team used the Signal app to discuss certain details regarding the impending military strike in Yemen. The catalyst that turned it into a “crisis” and caused it to be splashed across the news was that the number of the Atlantic’s editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, was also somehow folded into the group of the Trump national security team discussing the military strike. Yikes.

Actually double-yikes, as Goldberg has a long history of going after Trump with incendiary rhetoric, such as, “Today — two weeks before an election that could see Trump return to the White House — I’m most interested in his evident desire to wield military power, and power over the military, in the manner of Hitler and other dictators.”

To be sure, there have been cases of Republicans seeking to play both sides against the middle to either leak against policy they disliked, improve their image with the other side or both. But folding in the number of an editor who compares Trump to Hitler is beyond the pale and a grave disservice to the president and his agenda.

Obviously, it was a serious mistake to allow Goldberg’s number into the group chat. Does that potentially inadvertent mistake rise to the level of a full-blown “crisis” given the texts released to date? Not even close. To that point, this Wednesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt stressed, “This entire story was another hoax written by a Trump-hater who is well-known for his sensationalist spin.”

Should the media wish to revisit a full-blown “crisis” in which 13 American soldiers were killed and billions in U.S. military equipment was left behind for the Taliban to steal and use, they might want to investigate President Joe Biden’s disgraceful Afghanistan withdrawal. Or, they might want to delve in the FBI files just declassified by Trump this past Tuesday related to the “Crossfire Hurricane” hit job orchestrated against him and his campaign starting in July 2016.

“This was total weaponization. It’s a disgrace ... but now you’ll be able to see for yourselves,” the president said while signing the declassification memo. Of course, very few in the legacy media will “see for yourselves.”

Signalgate pales in comparison to those incidents or other actual cases over the years. But then, almost all who are now screaming about the “scandal” already know that. 

Their preening, posturing and lecturing has little to do with national security and more to do with grabbing onto any issue they can use to smear the Trump team, to damage the president personally, to push other policy initiatives or to create clicks to bolster ad revenue.

I have long suspected that the prayer many members of Congress recite before they go to sleep at night is as follows: “Oh, Lord, let the media give me a fake crisis I can pretend to get all worked up over so as to fool my constituents into believing that I am actually doing something, lest they realize that I never address the problems they voted me into office to solve.”

That “prayer” answered was on full display on Tuesday, week when Democratic members of the Senate Intelligence Committee continually played to the cameras, and the left’s echo chamber, while brow-beating Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, FBI Director Kash Patel and CIA Director John Ratcliffe.

Some in the media have suggested that “Signalgate” has created a “political storm.” Not surprisingly, the “storm” was created by the media and for the media. For the vast majority of Americans, the issue does not even rise to the level of a “tempest in a teapot.” Many are still trying to recover from the disastrous policies of the Biden-Harris administration and have no time to waste on partisan “inside baseball” D.C. intrigue or character assassination.

The Signalgate “storm” will soon dissipate. That said, the “Good Ship Trump” better batten down the hatches. For the next four years, it will continue to sail in far-left, turbulent, shark-infested waters, where a rogue wave could sweep anyone overboard, or worse, cause the entire ship to list sharply. 

Those who read Trump’s mega-bestselling real-world business book “The Art of the Deal” realize that the president is also very skilled in using the “power of negative thinking.” Meaning sometimes it is best to assume the worst and work your way back. “Signalgate” demonstrates that being able to wield the “power of negative thinking” is a great skill to have at your disposal.

Douglas MacKinnon is a former White House and Pentagon official.