Ronny Chieng from The Daily Show has provided commentary on the Trump administration’s widely discussed Signal group chat incident. In this chat, U.S. officials were found planning to bomb Yemen, unaware that Michael Waltz, the national security advisor, had mistakenly included Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, in the conversation.
Chieng humorously questioned whether others were unnerved by the fact that warfare discussions were being conducted through emojis, highlighting Waltz’s use of emojis in response to airstrike plans.
In critiquing the Republican response to the incident, Chieng noted the conflicting nature of their statements, which simultaneously described the breach as an error, criticized Goldberg’s journalistic integrity, and claimed the leaked chat showcased the officials’ competence. He remarked on the contradiction by stating, "So this reporter who is dishonest and incompetent is also correct. You can’t use ‘it was a mistake’ and ‘it was fake news.’ You need to choose one."
In a humorous tone, Chieng expressed mock sympathy for the U.S. officials, commenting on their apparent struggle, "who are just trying their best to kill other humans."
Concluding with a jest on personal privacy, Chieng suggested that having one’s group chats leaked could be life-ruining for many people. He humorously claimed that he possessed chats more sensitive than those discussing a missile attack on the Houthis, and noted that learning his missile attack chat had leaked would prompt him to feel relieved, saying, "Oh my god, thank god, thank god."
