BURSTJon Stewart is knocking national security adviser Mike Waltz for reportedly adding a journalist to a text chain of Trump administration officials discussing military attack plans against Houthi rebels in Yemen, quipping that Waltz was likely engrossed in "The White Lotus" while coordinating the group chat.
"A quick update on an administration that is once again carrying out its plans with competence and professionalism," Stewart said as he addressed the apparent security breach on Monday's "Daily Show."
Atlantic editor in chief Jeffrey Goldberg detailed in a Monday story titled "The Trump administration accidentally texted me its war plans," how he received an invitation from Waltz to join a Signal group chat, in which top officials discussed targets, weapons to be used, timing and other details of a March 15 attack.
"You know, back in my day, if you were a journalist who wanted leaked war documents, you'd work the sources, meet him in a dark garage, earn the trust, pound the pavement," Stewart told the audience.
"Now? You just wait for the national security adviser to be distracted by 'White Lotus' while he's setting up his 'Bomb Yemen' group chat," the Comedy Central host said to laughs.
Stewart imitated Waltz typing away on his phone while watching an incestuous plot line on the third season of the HBO series.
"By the way, I might be in this group chat. I don't know. I don't check my group chats," he added with a grin.
"Perhaps my favorite text of the entire group chain was the one from our Defense Secretary [Pete Hegseth] saying, 'We are currently clean on OPSEC,'" Stewart said.
"For those of you who don't know, 'OPSEC' means 'operational security.'"
"He said that in a group chat — a group chat with a journalist," Stewart said.