While Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is quietly tamping down the flames of nuclear armageddon rhetoric, it appears President Trump is more than willing to play 'bad cop' with his bombing bragadocio. In a first tweet, he takes credit for "renovating" America's nuclear arsenal...
My first order as President was to renovate and modernize our nuclear arsenal. It is now far stronger and more powerful than ever before....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 9, 2017
And then, while appearing to suggest he wouldn't press the big red button, makes it very clear how he feels about America's position in the world...
...Hopefully we will never have to use this power, but there will never be a time that we are not the most powerful nation in the world!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 9, 2017
All of which should be put in the context of his 1999 discussion with Tim Russert on what he would do to North Korea (pre-emptive strike)....
Tim Russert interviewing @realDonaldTrump in 1999 about launching a pre-emptive strike against North Korea.Could be key to his thinking. pic.twitter.com/PRbDA9r6Jp
— Sven Henrich (@NorthmanTrader) June 20, 2017