President Donald Trump has suggested the government explore using nuclear bombs to stop hurricanes from hitting the United States during storm season, according to a new report.
Axios’ Jonathan Swan reported Sunday that Trump has suggested multiple times to senior Homeland Security and national security officials to explore nuking hurricanes. Swan cites multiple unnamed sources and a 2017 National Security Council memo.
During one hurricane briefing at the White House, Trump said, “I got it. I got it. Why don’t we nuke them?” according to one source who was there. “They start forming off the coast of Africa, as they’re moving across the Atlantic, we drop a bomb inside the eye of the hurricane and it disrupts it. Why can’t we do that?” the source added, paraphrasing the president’s remarks.
The source told Swan he told Trump something to the effect of, “Sir, we’ll look into that.”
Axios reported that the “bomb the hurricanes” idea, which Trump floated early in the second year of his presidency before John Bolton took over as national security adviser, went nowhere and never entered a formal policy process.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has published a fact-sheet to explain why nuking hurricanes is a really bad idea, mainly due to the fact that it would release deadly radioactive fallout that would be carried around the world by wind.
UPDATE: Trump has responded to the report via twitter:
The story by Axios that President Trump wanted to blow up large hurricanes with nuclear weapons prior to reaching shore is ridiculous. I never said this. Just more FAKE NEWS!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 26, 2019
Watch above, via MSNBC.
[Image via screengrab]
Have a tip we should know? tips@mediaite.com
