Trump called him a ‘sleazebag.’ Then he got invited to a secret chat.

The journalist the Trump administration inadvertently included in a secret chat about military plans happens to be a familiar target of President Trump’s ire.

Trump has long criticized Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor in chief of the Atlantic, at times referring to him in rallies and on social media as a “sleazebag," “con man" and “slimeball reporter." And that was before Goldberg published a story Monday saying that he had been invited to a group chat for senior national-security officials that included detailed discussions of airstrikes against Houthi militants in Yemen.

National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes confirmed the authenticity of the chat. While lawmakers grapple with questions about the legality and security of the Signal communications, Trump’s team has focused its attention on Goldberg.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters Monday that Goldberg was “a deceitful and highly discredited so-called journalist who’s made a profession of peddling hoaxes time and time again." He added, “This is a guy that peddles in garbage."

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a post on X Tuesday that Goldberg is “well-known for his sensationalist spin."

Speaking to reporters at the White House on Tuesday, Trump called the Atlantic a “failed magazine" and said of Goldberg, “He’s made up a lot of stories and I think he’s basically bad for the country."

A spokeswoman for the Atlantic said, “Attempts to disparage and discredit The Atlantic, our editor, and our reporting follow an obvious playbook by elected officials and others in power who are hostile to journalists and the First Amendment rights of all Americans."

Goldberg joined the Atlantic as a national correspondent in 2007 and became its editor in 2016, writing frequently about foreign affairs and domestic politics. Under him, the magazine has won multiple Pulitzer Prizes and boosted its audience dramatically. It has also repeatedly raised concerns about Trump’s fitness to lead, saying he has autocratic tendencies and a disregard for democratic norms.

In September 2020, Goldberg reported that Trump referred to soldiers killed in battle during World War I as “losers" and “suckers," citing multiple anonymous sources who said they heard the remarks. Trump contested the reporting, though his chief of staff at the time confirmed he used those words.

Soon after, Trump posted on social media that the Atlantic was “a failing Radical Left Magazine" and said Goldberg was a “con man." (The Wall Street Journal reported last year that the magazine is profitable, with revenue and subscriptions both growing.)

In October 2024, Goldberg referenced Trump’s “singularly corrosive approach to military tradition" in an Atlantic article about the then-nominee’s comments regarding the armed forces and military service and handling of the death of an Army private. According to that article, Trump told a cabinet official, “Vietnam would have been a waste of time for me. Only suckers went to Vietnam."

After that article ran, Trump called Goldberg a “sleazebag" at a Texas campaign rally.

He used the same term again at the White House on Tuesday.

Goldberg said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe" that he was initially surprised, but pleased, to receive a message on Signal from national security adviser Michael Waltz.

“It struck me as somewhat unusual because we all, and I in particular, have a somewhat contentious relationship with some people in the Trump administration—namely, Trump," Goldberg said.

Write to Melissa Korn at Melissa.Korn@wsj.com