CNN reports new details of President Donald Trump’s forgoing of the traditional handoff of the “nuclear football” — he’s taking the highly classified briefcase with him to Mar-a-Lago instead.
“The most important briefcase in the world, carried by the military and never far from the President of the United States,” said CNN’s Barbara Starr, adding, “The case holds the highly classified equipment and authorities needed for our president to order the military to launch a nuclear weapon.”
Because Trump is not attending the inauguration, where the briefcase is generally handed off to the incoming president, the military had to prepare a second briefcase. One will go to President-elect Joe Biden once he is sworn into office, while the other will be with Trump in Florida until he no longer has power.
The nuclear codes that accompany the briefcase will essentially stop working the second Biden is sworn into office, rendering Trump’s separate nuclear football useless.
“Senior military officials say, while the president has sole authority to launch nuclear weapons, he cannot do it alone. If an adversary were to launch a missile at the U.S., the president would immediately be on a classified communication network, receiving minute by minute intelligence and recommendations on how to proceed,” Starr added, noting that there are safeguards in place to prevent illegal attack orders from the president.
Trump will soon become the first president
Watch above, via CNN.