What Donald Trump had to say about nuclear weapons in the first debate caused experts to set the WTF clock back to 0:00 minutes.
HOLT: On nuclear weapons, President Obama reportedly considered changing the nation's longstanding policy on first use. Do you support the current policy? Mr. Trump, you have two minutes on that.
TRUMP: Well, I have to say that, you know, for what Secretary Clinton was saying about nuclear with Russia, she's very cavalier in the way she talks about various countries. But Russia has been expanding their -- they have a much newer capability than we do. We have not been updating from the new standpoint.
I looked the other night. I was seeing B-52s, they're old enough that your father, your grandfather could be flying them. We are not -- we are not keeping up with other countries. I would like everybody to end it, just get rid of it. But I would certainly not do first strike.
Following “I would like everybody to end it, just get rid of it” with “but I would certainly not do first strike,” has caused a lot of people to wonder if Trump really understands what the term “first use” means. It seems possible that he’s actually thinking of “unilateral disarmament”—that is, destroying all or part of American’s nuclear arsenal without requiring equivalent concessions from other nations—and saying that he won’t go first.
On the other hand, Trump says “first strike” rather than “first use.” And he follows this up with …
TRUMP: I think that once the nuclear alternative happens, it's over. At the same time, we have to be prepared. I can't take anything off the table.
So maybe Trump doesn’t know the difference between first use and first strike.
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Though the phrases sound alike, "first strike" refers to a nuclear power initiating nuclear combat and landing the first blow — traditionally, the U.S. or Russia. Since the beginning of the Cold War, the threat of a first strike has been the "balance of terror" that holds each side's nuclear capabilities in check.
"First use" is an un-official U.S. prohibition on the use of nuclear weapons against enemies who don't have nuclear capability
So, is Mr. "Bomb the hell out of ‘em” saying he would definitely not engage in first use, or is he saying he would not engage in unilateral disarmament, or is he saying that he’s taking the ‘M’ out of the MAD strategy? Who can say? Certainly not Trump.
Donald Trump's confusing comments about nuclear weapons in Monday night's debate are not the first time during this presidential campaign that his statements have left nuclear experts wondering just what he might do if he gains access to the nuclear football.
Football? Trump has a solution for football stuff.
He could just put that nuclear football up there on the wall … does it come in gold?
In March, he told Eric Bolling of Fox News that he wouldn't rule out using nuclear weapons in Europe.
Mr. Trump … please don’t push that button.
