As a holiday Christmas gift to all Americans, President Trump refrained from saying or doing anything exceptionally frightening during the past few weeks. But on Tuesday everyone had to get back to work, which for Trump meant threatening nuclear war in a tweet:
Trump was responding to Kim Jong-un’s New Year’s Day address, in which the North Korean dictator issued another threat to the West, while extending an olive branch to South Korea.
“The entire United States is within range of our nuclear weapons, a nuclear button is always on my desk. This is reality, not a threat,” Kim said. “This year, we should focus on mass-producing nuclear warheads and ballistic missiles for operational deployment. These weapons will be used only if our society is threatened.”
Here are some points to consider as you try to take your mind off the possibility of a nuclear holocaust.
• On Tuesday morning, Trump offered a relatively tame response to “Rocket Man.”
It’s unclear why he decided to circle back, but Twitter sleuths are on the case.
• Members of Kim’s “regime” are not starving, but millions of average North Koreans certainly are (and a recent New York Times op-ed argued it’s our fault). The line doesn’t even make sense in the context of previous Trump insults.
• Here’s a list of all the Republican lawmakers condemning Trump’s tweet: …
• Fifteen minutes after taunting North Korea, the president of the United States announced that he’ll be attacking certain members of the press on Monday at “5:00 o’clock.” He didn’t specify a.m. or p.m., but either way, this gives him some incentive to make sure the world lasts another week.
• No, Trump does not literally have a nuclear button on his desk. Kim probably doesn’t have one either. It’s a metaphor.
• Speaking of metaphors, yes, it seems that, intentionally or not, the president’s nuclear threat has something to do with penises.
• Don’t say she didn’t warn you.
• Don’t say he didn’t warn you.
