Hey there human, you probably know what nukes are. They’re incredibly powerful long stick-like things that go boom in a fireball of death. Do you know who controls these weapons? The president. Do you know what the president can now do? Basically anything within their official power.
Whoops.
In the United States, the president has sole authority over nuclear launches. The nuclear football can launch nukes from practically anywhere. When an authenticated command is received, nukes are loaded, armed and aimed.
Back when Donald Trump first ascended to the presidency, there was brief concern about Donald Trump having this power. These concerns were assuaged by the then-standing deterrent preventing a president from carrying out an ill-conceived nuclear strike: The fact that a president would be prosecuted and presumably held accountable.
In case you haven’t heard, that doesn’t exist any longer and presidents now have broad immunity for official acts within the powers vested by the Constitution.
Well, the Constitution places the power of the armed forces on the president, and last time I checked, nuclear weapons were a part of the armed forces.
“Well, hang on! Only congress can declare war!” you might say. Unfortunately for you, the president doesn’t need a declaration of war to launch a nuke. In fact, now, the only thing a president really needs is an official action to blame it on.
“OK, but we have treaties against this!” you might also say. Except that we don’t actually have any signed and ratified treaties that outright ban the United States from launching or using nuclear weapons.
In fact, the United States is currently ignoring its commitment to the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons as it is—a fully ratified treaty.
That’s right: A president of the United States could start a nuclear conflict, retreat to the presidential bunker, and the survivors still wouldn’t be able to take the president to court. Of course, this assumes that there is even a semblance of civilization left.
Donald Trump Probably Preparing to Nuke Hurricanes
Do you remember when news broke in 2019 that then-President Donald Trump insisted on multiple occasions that hurricanes should be nuked to weaken them and prevent them from slamming into the United States?
It literally led to a hysterical bill in Congress to legally prevent a president from being able to nuke hurricanes—which hilariously enough is now basically moot.
So, let’s say Donald Trump gets back to the White House in January. A few short months later, hurricane season rolls around. NOAA probably won’t exist any longer thanks to Project 2025.
Donald Trump wants to nuke a hurricane. Who’s going to stop him?
Congress might impeach him, but that will take months, plenty of time to launch a few nukes. The courts are now powerless to do anything; the Supreme Court ensured their hands are tied. All other agencies are under the control of the Executive Branch.
“Ugh, the armed forces can deny an unlawful order.” you may dismissively think. True, but what exactly is unlawful about an officially confirmed president authorizing an official nuclear strike? The order likely couldn’t be ignored by those responsible for operating the nuclear arsenal without risk of being court marshaled and convicted.
Is it sinking in yet?
Vote Like It Matters
If you’d prefer not to find out if Donald Trump can nuke a hurricane in the next four years to protect the nations’ coastline, maybe vote accordingly. Otherwise, we may very well find ourselves in some seriously interesting conundrums regarding how far the power of the president can be pushed.
It might seem farfetched that this would happen, but that’s because you’ve lived your entire life under the assumption that presidents would be held responsible for their actions.
You now don’t have that luxury. You really need to vote like it matters.
