The Fox News show The Five addressed the explosive reports that Trump administration officials accidentally included a journalist in a Signal group chat discussing military strikes in Yemen, with co-hosts offering starkly contrasting takes. Liberal panelist slammed the episode as proof of “incompetence and recklessness on a scale unimaginable,” calling it far worse than Hillary Clinton’s email scandal. She emphasized that discussing war plans on a consumer app—rather than secure government channels—exposed grave national security risks.
Conservative co-hosts, however, dismissed the significance. downplayed the breach, comparing it to accidentally adding “Aunt Mary” to a bachelor party group chat and quipping, “At least they didn’t home-brew a server and acid-wash it—but her emails!”. echoed this sarcasm, mocking Tarlov’s concerns while shifting focus to perceived Democratic failures.
Fox anchors and guests largely rallied behind the Trump administration. Former White House Press Secretary attacked The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg as “not credible,” while conceded the incident was a “BFD” but stressed Goldberg didn’t leak actual war plans. defended Signal’s use, claiming intelligence agencies frequently rely on the app despite security experts warning it’s inappropriate for classified discussions.
The segment typified Fox’s broader defense of Trump officials, framing the controversy as overblown and accusing Democrats of “feigned phony outrage.” Meanwhile, Tarlov’s isolated criticism highlighted the show’s partisan divide, as conservative hosts minimized the breach and redirected scrutiny toward Democratic scandals.
