

It followed the North Korean’s dictator’s assertion that his country’s nuclear arsenal was ‘complete’ and that his nuclear button was always within reach.īut what exactly is the truth within the POTUS’s latest declaration? The big red button?


The tweet was the latest shot in a ping-pong match of nuclear threats between the two world leaders, and one that saw Trump branded a ‘lunatic’ and a ‘madman’ by U.S.

TWEET DONALD TRUMP RED BUTTON UPDATE
There were many who criticized Trump's public broadcast of nuclear threats as unwise, among other less measured critiques.To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Trump's Tuesday tweet elicited an immediate frenzy of reactions from politicians and pundits alike. Still, details of the process are scarce by intention. In short, there's no hidden red button in the Oval Office that can send a nuclear missile immediately flying toward Pyongyang. Once he'd been cleared as POTUS, he'd relate the relevant nuclear codes from the "football." The Pentagon and Strategic Command would receive the launch order, and be responsible for carrying it out. To do so, he'd read off his "biscuit" - the secret codes he carries at all times that identify it is indeed him making the nuclear call. If Trump wanted to order a strike, he'd have to confirm his identity with the Pentagon's brass. Alongside the codes are explicitly laid-out war plans. "Football" here denotes the set of nuclear codes. Rather than a button, a rotating group of military personnel carry a "football" with them wherever the U.S. Weapons terminology is reliably euphemistic, and nuclear weapons are no different. If Trump did order a nuclear strike, there are a few barriers he'd face before an actual launch of any weapon. James Mattis said could target literally anywhere in the world. 30, North Korea launched an ICBM (Intercontinental Ballistic Missile) that Gen. But tensions have escalated over the past year, as Kim has ordered several test missile launches. North Korea's pursuit of nuclear weapons has been a thorn in the side of at least the past three presidential administrations. On Tuesday evening, Trump tweeted in part: "Will someone from his depleted and food starved regime please inform him that I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my Button works!" Trump's reference to a metaphorical button came after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made nuclear threats against the United States in a New Year speech. His Tuesday tweet responding to rhetorical threats from North Korea is not the first reference to a potential nuclear throwdown, but it is the first presidential tweet mention of a supposed "red button." And while Trump doesn't have an actual, literal nuclear button, the launch of a nuclear missile lies almost entirely within the president's sole discretion. President Trump often uses Twitter to express his unfiltered thoughts and feelings on many subjects, nuclear war among them.
