Lt. Col. (Ret.) Tony Shaffer joined Chicago’s Morning Answer with Dan Proft and Amy Jacobson to cut through the noise on two major national security stories dominating headlines: the ongoing war in Ukraine and the media-fueled frenzy over the Signal app controversy. As President of Project Sentinel and a seasoned intelligence expert, Shaffer brought clarity—and a strong defense of the Trump administration’s record.
Ukraine: Stability Through Strength
Shaffer pushed back against the common media narrative that the war in Ukraine is the inevitable outcome of a turbulent region. Instead, he pointed to the stark difference in global stability during the Trump administration—when Vladimir Putin didn’t dare invade.
According to Shaffer, Trump’s foreign policy combined clear red lines with strategic unpredictability, keeping adversaries like Russia in check without dragging the U.S. into endless wars. Rather than escalating tensions, Trump’s policies projected strength, restored deterrence, and prioritized American interests. In contrast, the Biden administration’s chaotic messaging and reactive strategies have, in his view, only emboldened America’s adversaries and prolonged conflict.
Signal App Hysteria: A Convenient Distraction
Turning to the Signal messaging app controversy, Shaffer dismissed the breathless headlines and security alarmism as another coordinated attempt to undermine Trump and those aligned with him. Critics have latched onto alleged mishandling of encrypted communications to suggest negligence or misconduct—but Shaffer called it a baseless narrative.
He noted that in intelligence and military operations, communication platforms always carry risks—but the outrage surrounding Signal appears to be politically motivated, not based on any substantive breach.
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