U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth blamed the media on Monday for reports he shared military plans to an unclassified Signal chat. Speaking to reporters traveling with him as he landed in Hawaii for his first trip to the Indo-Pacific as defense secretary, Pete Hegseth said “nobody was texting war plans and that’s all I have to say about that.” Instead, Hegseth tried to discredit The Atlantic Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg who was added to the Signal chat by National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and reported on the texts. Goldberg said he received the Signal invitation from Mike Waltz, Trump's national security adviser, who was also in the group chat. Hegseth in his first comments on the matter attacked Goldberg as “deceitful” and a “discredited so-called journalist” while alluding to previous critical reporting of Trump from the publication. He did not shed light on why Signal was being used to discuss the sensitive operation or how Goldberg ended up on the message chain. The National Security Council has said the text chain in Signal “appears to be authentic.” Hegseth is facing questions from members of Congress of both parties on the details he posted to Signal, which is a commercial app and is not classified. The National Security Council also said in a statement that it was looking into how a journalist’s number was added to the chat. Hegseth landed in Hawaii Monday afternoon to meet civilian and military leaders in the Indo-Pacific Command, then tour U.S. military facilities in Guam and receive briefings on capabilities before flying to the Philippines and Japan. "We're out here to to talk to our commanders and more importantly, meet with the troops all across the Indo Pacific and then our allies and partners who are going to be a critical part of ensuring the future in this region is free," said Hegseth after his arrival. Hegseth will be in Manila on March 28-29 to meet his Philippine counterpart, Gilberto Teodoro, and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Talks will touch on increasingly assertive actions by Beijing in the South China Sea and “more significant support” to Philippine security forces by the Trump administration, Philippine Ambassador to the U.S. Jose Manuel Romualdez told The Associated Press.