Democrats say Trump would 'feel fear' if he used nuclear strike powers – then people would point out the obvious

Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts argued that people should fear that President-elect Donald Trump has the authority to launch a nuclear attack.

“Come January, Donald Trump will have the sole authority to launch a nuclear attack. This should scare you. That's why @RepTedLieu and I am appealing to @POTUS to put guardrails on the President's authority to launch a nuclear attack.” war. “

Trump, who won both the electoral vote and the popular vote in the 2024 White House race, defeating Vice President Kamala Harris, served as president from early 2017 to early 2021. And while he was in the Oval Office, he never used nuclear weapons.

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He has also been outspoken about the great danger posed by nuclear weapons.

“To me, we have one really serious threat, and that's called nuclear weapons,” President Trump said earlier this year. “This is not Army tanks going back and forth and shooting each other. This is obliteration,” he said of the powerful weapons. “We have incredible things, but so does Russia. China has much less, but we will catch up,” Trump said, calling the issue “the single greatest challenge ever to civilization.” threat.''

Josh Barnett, who lost the Republican primary for Arizona Senate earlier this year, responded to Markey's post by saying, “LOL, he has had the authority for the last four years that he has been in office.” I replied.

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President-elect Donald Trump gives a speech. (Peter Kramer/NBC via Getty Images)

Others made this point as well.

“Hey, he was once president,” Tom Gillis, who describes himself on X as a “former PGA Tour player,” declared in response to the congressman's post.

Another person, Shonathan Perius, tweeted: “He always had the power but he didn't use it.”

In a letter to President Joe Biden Markey and Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.), the commander-in-chief said that during the waning days of his time in office, he hoped to “remove the system from Donald Trump and future unstable presidents.” We can protect and maintain this.” constitutionality.

“We urge the President to announce that it shall henceforth be the policy of the United States not to launch a nuclear first strike without the express authorization of Congress.In a situation where the United States is already attacked with nuclear weapons, the President must: “We will do something about it'' and retain the option of responding unilaterally,'' the two Democrats declared in a letter to the president.

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Democratic Caucus Vice Chairman Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) speaks during a press conference at the U.S. Capitol after the weekly caucus meeting in Washington, D.C., May 22, 2024. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

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Lawmakers have long advocated for policy change and repeatedly pushed legislation on the issue.

“As co-authors of the Nuclear Weapons First Use Limitation Act, which prohibits the president of the United States from launching a nuclear first strike without prior approval from Congress, we urge you to complete this unconstitutional action during the remainder of your term. We urge you to change this policy,” they said in a letter to Biden.

“We first introduced this law during the Obama administration, not as a partisan effort, but rather because current U.S. policy, which gives the president sole authority to launch nuclear weapons without input from Congress, is dangerous. This is to make a bigger statement that As President Donald Trump prepares to return to the Oval Office, he needs more than ever to take the power to start nuclear war out of the hands of a single individual and ensure that Congress's constitutional role is respected and fulfilled. ,” Markey and Liu said.