Shortly after senior Trump administration officials discussed and celebrated the bombing of Yemen in an encrypted group chat that, unbeknownst to them, included the editor-in-chief of the Atlantic, a subset of the group feasted at an opulent, secret dinner featuring the president where guests were asked to pay $1 million apiece to snag a seat.
The date was Saturday, March 15. President Donald Trump was at his Mar-a-Lago estate attending a “candlelight” dinner that wasn’t on his public calendar. On the lawn outside, luxury cars were on display: a Rolls Royce was parked near a Bugatti and Lamborghini. Guests milled about, taking photographs of each other and the vehicles. Earlier that day, the United States had bombed Yemen, targeting Houthi leadership. At least 53 people, including children, were killed.
Trump flew to the event on Air Force One with Elon Musk and Musk’s four year old son X, according to photos and videos viewed by WIRED. Throughout the weekend, Musk was in close contact with Trump and at least one member of the president’s brain trust who was participating in a Signal group chat where highly sensitive details of the planned operation were being shared. Experts say the conversation appears to have violated government protocols on information sharing.
The candlelight dinner attendees included national security advisor Michael Waltz and the White House deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller, according to a source familiar with the events. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was also present at Mar-a-Lago over the weekend, according to a photograph from the following day viewed by WIRED and confirmed by a source familiar with the events.
Details of the Signal group fiasco emerged because in the days prior to the bombing, a handle with the name Michael Waltz had accidentally added Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic to a chat, titled “Houthi PC small group.” (He likely meant to add US trade representative Jamieson Greer, who has the same initials.) In a bombshell story, The Atlantic reported on the off-books discussion of plans to bomb Yemen. Waltz, Rubio, and Miller all appeared to be in the Signal group and, according to message exchanges reported by Goldberg, were actively engaging with the chat ahead of the bombing. Some of the group members appeared only by their initials.
The day before the dinner, officials discussed whether they should proceed with the bombing, due to, among other things, the potential economic impact of the airstrike. The Atlantic reported that Vice president JD Vance, who also appeared to be in the Signal chat, told the group that he thought the airstrikes were a “mistake.”
According to the Atlantic’s reporting, Miller—who WIRED previously reported is referred to inside Trumpworld as “PM,” short for prime minister—effectively shut down Vance’s concern. “As I heard it, the president was clear: green light,” an account with Miller’s initials wrote in the chat, according to the Atlantic. On Saturday, at 1:48, the Waltz account and then others messaged the group. “Amazing job,” wrote Waltz. “A good start,” wrote an account with the name John Ratcliffe, the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). A person who went by “MAR” in the chat, identified by The Atlantic as likely “Marco Antonio Rubio,” wrote “Good Job Pete and your team!!” referring to Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Defense. Waltz replied afterwards: “The team in MAL did a great job too,” referring to the team positioned at Mar-a-Lago, which included Miller, Waltz, and Rubio. Trump’s team has long used the shorthand MAL to refer to Mar-a-Lago.