Thread: President Donald Trump

What more would it take for the number to reach 100%?

The only other president that wanted to do this was Richard Nixon.

President Trump’s suggestion that NBC should potentially have its broadcast license challenged has prompted a wave of condemnation from both sides of the aisle, with many saying that such a move would violate the First Amendment.

Trump lashed out at NBC News on Wednesday after the outlet reported that Trump had suggested increasing the nation’s nuclear arms stockpile during a meeting with top Cabinet officials.

“With all of the Fake News coming out of NBC and the Networks, at what point is it appropriate to challenge their License? Bad for country!” Trump tweeted.

While the idea was roundly criticized as a threat to the free press, many don’t believe that the president would be able to follow through.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is in charge of licensing television stations, but it only grants licenses to local stations and not their national network affiliates. And even though NBC’s local stations do rely on FCC licenses, it would be highly unusual for the agency to revoke a license based on a broadcaster’s content.

“Not how it works,” Democratic FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel tweeted in response to the president.

Still, congressional Democrats have seized on the president’s statement. Many are demanding that Ajit Pai, the Republican FCC chairman, condemn the idea.

“The president’s threat against NBC and other media outlets is far from empty,” Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), said in a statement, referencing a similar proposal from President Nixon, who wanted to crack down on The Washington Post.

“In confirmation hearings for Ajit Pai, we raised this possibility,” Schatz said. “Now, the FCC must show that it is loyal to the law, not the president, and make clear that it rejects this kind of interference.”

Trump’s tweet came the same day as a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee markup on legislation reauthorizing the FCC, and Democrats used the brief meeting to hammer the president.

“This threat alone could intimidate the press and lead to skewed and unfair reporting,” Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (N.J.), the top Commerce committee Democrat, said during the markup.

“I therefore call on FCC Chairman Ajit Pai to immediately condemn this unwarranted attack. I also call on the chair to announce publicly that he will not follow through on his orders from the president. Chairman Pai should not act in any way to undermine free speech on our airwaves,” he said. And Sen. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) sent a letter to Pai on Wednesday asking him to publicly refuse to act on Trump’s request.

Democrats were not alone in criticizing Trump. Conservatives and industry advocates who often side with Pai also raised concerns about the president’s message.

“The founders of our nation set as a cornerstone of our democracy the First Amendment, forever enshrining and protecting freedom of the press,” said Gordon Smith, the CEO of the National Association of Broadcasters and a former Republican senator from Oregon.

“It is contrary to this fundamental right for any government official to threaten the revocation of an FCC license simply because of a disagreement with the reporting of a journalist,” he said.

Pai has yet to address the president’s statement and a spokeswoman did not immediately respond when asked for comment.

It’s not the first time he’s been forced to answer for Trump’s invectives against the media.

After the president tweeted that the press is “enemy of the American People” in February, Democrats pressed Pai in an oversight hearing and in a follow-up letter on whether he agreed with the assessment.
“No,” Pai responded.

Backlash swift after Trump tweet on NBC | TheHill

Originally Posted by bsnub

Stupid people always fail to notice their own stupidity. A smart person is able to recognize their own shortcomings that is the decisive difference between smart and stupid.

It's called the Dunning Kruger Effect.
Applies quite a lot on TD

Originally Posted by bsnub

“Now, the FCC must show that it is loyal to the law, not the president, and make clear that it rejects this kind of interference.”

Oh dear. Publically stating you have loyalty to the law and not Trump is an invitation for some aggression from the orange moron.
The thin-skinned spoiled brat will not like it at all.

"The FCC is unpatriotic. Time to re-organise the management of the FCC", is my pick of the tone of the forthcoming early morning tweets.

At first it sounded like hyperbole, the escalation of a Twitter war. But now it’s clear that Bob Corker’s remarkable New York Times interview—in which the Republican senator described the White House as “adult day care” and warned Trump could start World War III—was an inflection point in the Trump presidency. It brought into the open what several people close to the president have recently told me in private: that Trump is “unstable,” “losing a step,” and “unraveling.”

The conversation among some of the president’s longtime confidantes, along with the character of some of the leaks emerging from the White House has shifted. There’s a new level of concern. NBC News published a report that Trump shocked his national security team when he called for a nearly tenfold increase in the country’s nuclear arsenal during a briefing this summer. One Trump adviser confirmed to me it was after this meeting disbanded that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called Trump a “moron.”

In recent days, I spoke with a half dozen prominent Republicans and Trump advisers, and they all describe a White House in crisis as advisers struggle to contain a president who seems to be increasingly unfocused and consumed by dark moods. Trump’s ire is being fueled by his stalled legislative agenda and, to a surprising degree, by his decision last month to back the losing candidate Luther Strange in the Alabama Republican primary. “Alabama was a huge blow to his psyche,” a person close to Trump said. “He saw the cult of personality was broken.”

According to two sources familiar with the conversation, Trump vented to his longtime security chief, Keith Schiller, “I hate everyone in the White House! There are a few exceptions, but I hate them!” (A White House official denies this.) Two senior Republican officials said Chief of Staff John Kelly is miserable in his job and is remaining out of a sense of duty to keep Trump from making some sort of disastrous decision. Today, speculation about Kelly’s future increased after Politico reported that Kelly’s deputy Kirstjen Nielsen is likely to be named Homeland Security Secretary—the theory among some Republicans is that Kelly wanted to give her a soft landing before his departure.

One former official even speculated that Kelly and Secretary of Defense James Mattis have discussed what they would do in the event Trump ordered a nuclear first strike. “Would they tackle him?” the person said. Even Trump’s most loyal backers are sowing public doubts. This morning, The Washington Post quoted longtime Trump friend Tom Barrack saying he has been “shocked” and “stunned” by Trump’s behavior.

While Kelly can’t control Trump’s tweets, he is doing his best to physically sequester the president—much to Trump’s frustration. One major G.O.P. donor told me access to Trump has been cut off, and his outside calls to the White House switchboard aren’t put through to the Oval Office. Earlier this week, I reported on Kelly’s plans to prevent Trump from mingling with guests at Mar-a-Lago later this month. And, according to two sources, Keith Schiller quit last month after Kelly told Schiller he needed permission to speak to the president and wanted written reports of their conversations.

The White House denies these accounts. “The President’s mood is good and his outlook on the agenda is very positive,” an official said.

West Wing aides have also worried about Trump’s public appearances, one Trump adviser told me. The adviser said aides were relieved when Trump declined to agree to appear on the season premiere of 60 Minutes last month. “He’s lost a step. They don’t want him doing adversarial TV interviews,” the adviser explained. Instead, Trump has sat down for friendly conversations with Sean Hannity and Mike Huckabee, whose daughter is Trump’s press secretary. (The White House official says the 60 Minutes interview is being rescheduled.)

Even before Corker’s remarks, some West Wing advisers were worried that Trump’s behavior could cause the Cabinet to take extraordinary Constitutional measures to remove him from office. Several months ago, according to two sources with knowledge of the conversation, former chief strategist Steve Bannon told Trump that the risk to his presidency wasn’t impeachment, but the 25th Amendment—the provision by which a majority of the Cabinet can vote to remove the president. When Bannon mentioned the 25th Amendment, Trump said, “What’s that?” According to a source, Bannon has told people he thinks Trump has only a 30 percent chance of making it the full term.

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017...house-advisers

^He's gotta keep rotating cabinet members for job security.

Assuming Eminem is genuinely free-styling ... not bad.

OH ... the graphic language has been edited out.

Any chance of Editing Trump out? Just asking like.

If Trump was Kirk ...

Ahh ... the US elected Donald Trump.

But did they get one man in the campaigning and another in the Oval Office?





sorry for the 2 posts ... only ONE per post is allowed.

Originally Posted by bsnub

At first it sounded like hyperbole, the escalation of a Twitter war. But now it’s clear that Bob Corker’s remarkable New York Times interview—in which the Republican senator described the White House as “adult day care” and warned Trump could start World War III—was an inflection point in the Trump presidency. It brought into the open what several people close to the president have recently told me in private: that Trump is “unstable,” “losing a step,” and “unraveling.”

The conversation among some of the president’s longtime confidantes, along with the character of some of the leaks emerging from the White House has shifted. There’s a new level of concern. NBC News published a report that Trump shocked his national security team when he called for a nearly tenfold increase in the country’s nuclear arsenal during a briefing this summer. One Trump adviser confirmed to me it was after this meeting disbanded that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called Trump a “moron.”

In recent days, I spoke with a half dozen prominent Republicans and Trump advisers, and they all describe a White House in crisis as advisers struggle to contain a president who seems to be increasingly unfocused and consumed by dark moods. Trump’s ire is being fueled by his stalled legislative agenda and, to a surprising degree, by his decision last month to back the losing candidate Luther Strange in the Alabama Republican primary. “Alabama was a huge blow to his psyche,” a person close to Trump said. “He saw the cult of personality was broken.”

According to two sources familiar with the conversation, Trump vented to his longtime security chief, Keith Schiller, “I hate everyone in the White House! There are a few exceptions, but I hate them!” (A White House official denies this.) Two senior Republican officials said Chief of Staff John Kelly is miserable in his job and is remaining out of a sense of duty to keep Trump from making some sort of disastrous decision. Today, speculation about Kelly’s future increased after Politico reported that Kelly’s deputy Kirstjen Nielsen is likely to be named Homeland Security Secretary—the theory among some Republicans is that Kelly wanted to give her a soft landing before his departure.

One former official even speculated that Kelly and Secretary of Defense James Mattis have discussed what they would do in the event Trump ordered a nuclear first strike. “Would they tackle him?” the person said. Even Trump’s most loyal backers are sowing public doubts. This morning, The Washington Post quoted longtime Trump friend Tom Barrack saying he has been “shocked” and “stunned” by Trump’s behavior.

While Kelly can’t control Trump’s tweets, he is doing his best to physically sequester the president—much to Trump’s frustration. One major G.O.P. donor told me access to Trump has been cut off, and his outside calls to the White House switchboard aren’t put through to the Oval Office. Earlier this week, I reported on Kelly’s plans to prevent Trump from mingling with guests at Mar-a-Lago later this month. And, according to two sources, Keith Schiller quit last month after Kelly told Schiller he needed permission to speak to the president and wanted written reports of their conversations.

The White House denies these accounts. “The President’s mood is good and his outlook on the agenda is very positive,” an official said.

West Wing aides have also worried about Trump’s public appearances, one Trump adviser told me. The adviser said aides were relieved when Trump declined to agree to appear on the season premiere of 60 Minutes last month. “He’s lost a step. They don’t want him doing adversarial TV interviews,” the adviser explained. Instead, Trump has sat down for friendly conversations with Sean Hannity and Mike Huckabee, whose daughter is Trump’s press secretary. (The White House official says the 60 Minutes interview is being rescheduled.)

Even before Corker’s remarks, some West Wing advisers were worried that Trump’s behavior could cause the Cabinet to take extraordinary Constitutional measures to remove him from office. Several months ago, according to two sources with knowledge of the conversation, former chief strategist Steve Bannon told Trump that the risk to his presidency wasn’t impeachment, but the 25th Amendment—the provision by which a majority of the Cabinet can vote to remove the president. When Bannon mentioned the 25th Amendment, Trump said, “What’s that?” According to a source, Bannon has told people he thinks Trump has only a 30 percent chance of making it the full term.

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017...house-advisers

I do believe the NBC report stating Trump want's to increase the US nuclear arsenal 10 fold has been debunked.

Originally Posted by RPETER65

I do believe the NBC report stating Trump want's to increase the US nuclear arsenal 10 fold has been debunked.

No it hasn't. Just because Drumpf denies it doesn't mean shit. Of course you will believe anything he says without question because you are an idiot.

Originally Posted by RPETER65

I do believe the NBC report stating Trump want's to increase the US nuclear arsenal 10 fold has been debunked.

Gotta link?

Originally Posted by uncle junior

Gotta link?

www.drumpfstwitterfeed.ru

Originally Posted by bsnub

No it hasn't. Just because Drumpf denies it doesn't mean shit. Of course you will believe anything he says without question because you are an idiot.

That same accusation fits you well. Trump is not the only one to deny the accusation,what Trump is asking for is to rebuild the existing arsenal. Of course you Trump haters will jump on anything to shed a negative light on Trump,true or not.

Originally Posted by AntRobertson

www.drumpfstwitterfeed.ru

nice try Bozo.

Originally Posted by RPETER65

what Trump is asking for is to rebuild the existing arsenal

Facts matter:

Originally Posted by RPETER65

nice try Bozo.

I don't know that it would be possible to make it any more obvious that was a joke and still not have it go sailing right over your head.

Originally Posted by uncle junior

Gotta link?

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry...b04fc4e1ea4c70

Originally Posted by AntRobertson

Facts matter

They sure do.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reno..._United_States

Now that is actual policy VS your triggered hysteria over some tweets & fake news.

Originally Posted by Slick

Now that is actual policy

It's a link to a Wikipedia page that was edited a month ago by someone calling them self 'KolbertBot'.

It also has nothing to do with what RPeter posted and my reply to it.

HuffPo article saying Trump denies he said something as proof of debunking...clowns be clownin...innit

Originally Posted by RPETER65

Of course you Trump haters will jump on anything to shed a negative light on Trump

...so much jumping...

Didn't see the original story posted on this thread. It is worth a read. Too many details to be FAKE NEWS!



Trump Wanted Tenfold Increase in Nuclear Arsenal, Surprising Military



WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said he wanted what amounted to a nearly tenfold increase in the U.S. nuclear arsenal during a gathering this past summer of the nation’s highest-ranking national security leaders, according to three officials who were in the room.


Trump’s comments, the officials said, came in response to a briefing slide he was shown that charted the steady reduction of U.S. nuclear weapons since the late 1960s. Trump indicated he wanted a bigger stockpile, not the bottom position on that downward-sloping curve.


According to the officials present, Trump’s advisers, among them the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, were surprised. Officials briefly explained the legal and practical impediments to a nuclear buildup and how the current military posture is stronger than it was at the height of the buildup. In interviews, they told NBC News that no such expansion is planned.




The July 20 meeting was described as a lengthy and sometimes tense review of worldwide U.S. forces and operations. It was soon after the meeting broke up that officials who remained behind heard Tillerson say that Trump is a “moron.”


Revelations of Trump’s comments that day come as the U.S. is locked in a high-stakes standoff with North Korea over its nuclear ambitions and is poised to set off a fresh confrontation with Iran by not certifying to Congress that Tehran is in compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal.


Trump convened a meeting Tuesday with his national security team in which they discussed “a range of options to respond to any form of North Korean aggression or, if necessary, to prevent North Korea from threatening the U.S. and its allies with nuclear weapons,” according to the White House.


The president’s comments during the Pentagon meeting in July came in response to a chart shown on the history of the U.S. and Russia’s nuclear capabilities that showed America’s stockpile at its peak in the late 1960s, the officials said. Some officials present said they did not take Trump’s desire for more nuclear weapons to be literally instructing the military to increase the actual numbers. But his comments raised questions about his familiarity with the nuclear posture and other issues, officials said.


Two officials present said that at multiple points in the discussion, the president expressed a desire not just for more nuclear weapons, but for additional U.S. troops and military equipment.


Any increase in America’s nuclear arsenal would not only break with decades of U.S. nuclear doctrine but also violate international disarmament treaties signed by every president since Ronald Reagan. Nonproliferation experts warned that such a move could set off a global arms race.


“If he were to increase the numbers, the Russians would match him, and the Chinese” would ramp up their nuclear ambitions, Joe Cirincione, a nuclear expert and an MSNBC contributor, said, referring to the president.


“There hasn’t been a military mission that’s required a nuclear weapon in 71 years,” Cirincione said.


Details of the July 20 meeting, which have not been previously reported, shed additional light on tensions among the commander in chief, members of his Cabinet and the uniformed leadership of the Pentagon stemming from vastly different world views, experiences and knowledge bases.


Moreover, the president’s comments reveal that Trump, who suggested before his inauguration that the U.S. “must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability,” voiced that desire as commander in chief directly to the military leadership in the heart of the Pentagon this summer.

Some officials in the Pentagon meeting were rattled by the president’s desire for more nuclear weapons and his understanding of other national security issues from the Korean Peninsula to Iraq and Afghanistan, the officials said.


That meeting followed one held a day earlier in the White House Situation Room focused on Afghanistan in which the president stunned some of his national security team. At that July 19 meeting, according to senior administration officials, Trump asked military leaders to fire the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan and compared their advice to that of a New York restaurant consultant whose poor judgment cost a business valuable time and money.


Two people familiar with the discussion said the Situation Room meeting, in which the president’s advisers anticipated he would sign off on a new Afghanistan strategy, was so unproductive that the advisers decided to continue the discussion at the Pentagon the next day in a smaller setting where the president could perhaps be more focused. “It wasn’t just the number of people. It was the idea of focus,” according to one person familiar with the discussion. The thinking was: “Maybe we need to slow down a little and explain the whole world” from a big-picture perspective, this person said.


The Pentagon meeting was also attended by Vice President Mike Pence; Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin; Gen. Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Gen. Paul Selva, the vice chairman; Defense Secretary James Mattis; Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan; Stephen Bannon, then Trump’s chief strategist; Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law and senior adviser; and Reince Preibus, then chief of staff. Sean Spicer, then the White House spokesman, and Keith Schiller, who was director of Oval Office operations at the time, also accompanied Trump to the Pentagon that day.

Asked for a response to the president’s comments, a White House official speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that the nuclear arsenal was not a primary topic of the briefing. Dana White, spokesperson for the Pentagon said “the secretary of defense has many closed sessions with the president and his cabinet members. Those conversations are privileged.”


President Trump responded Wednesday morning on Twitter:
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said he wanted what amounted to a nearly tenfold increase in the U.S. nuclear arsenal during a gathering this past summer of the nation’s highest-ranking national security leaders, according to three officials who were in the room.


Trump’s comments, the officials said, came in response to a briefing slide he was shown that charted the steady reduction of U.S. nuclear weapons since the late 1960s. Trump indicated he wanted a bigger stockpile, not the bottom position on that downward-sloping curve.


According to the officials present, Trump’s advisers, among them the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, were surprised. Officials briefly explained the legal and practical impediments to a nuclear buildup and how the current military posture is stronger than it was at the height of the buildup. In interviews, they told NBC News that no such expansion is planned.


Play Officials: Trump Wanted Nearly 10 Times More Nukes Facebook Twitter Embed
Officials: Trump Wanted Nearly 10 Times More Nukes 2:42
The July 20 meeting was described as a lengthy and sometimes tense review of worldwide U.S. forces and operations. It was soon after the meeting broke up that officials who remained behind heard Tillerson say that Trump is a “moron.”


Revelations of Trump’s comments that day come as the U.S. is locked in a high-stakes standoff with North Korea over its nuclear ambitions and is poised to set off a fresh confrontation with Iran by not certifying to Congress that Tehran is in compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal.


Play Did Trump's call to expand nuclear arsenal lead to Tillerson's 'moron' remark? Facebook Twitter Embed
Did Trump's call to expand nuclear arsenal lead to Tillerson's 'moron' remark? 3:24
Trump convened a meeting Tuesday with his national security team in which they discussed “a range of options to respond to any form of North Korean aggression or, if necessary, to prevent North Korea from threatening the U.S. and its allies with nuclear weapons,” according to the White House.


The president’s comments during the Pentagon meeting in July came in response to a chart shown on the history of the U.S. and Russia’s nuclear capabilities that showed America’s stockpile at its peak in the late 1960s, the officials said. Some officials present said they did not take Trump’s desire for more nuclear weapons to be literally instructing the military to increase the actual numbers. But his comments raised questions about his familiarity with the nuclear posture and other issues, officials said.


Two officials present said that at multiple points in the discussion, the president expressed a desire not just for more nuclear weapons, but for additional U.S. troops and military equipment.


Any increase in America’s nuclear arsenal would not only break with decades of U.S. nuclear doctrine but also violate international disarmament treaties signed by every president since Ronald Reagan. Nonproliferation experts warned that such a move could set off a global arms race.


Image: Nuclear Warhead
An inert Minuteman 3 missile in a training launch tube at Minot Air Force Base in 2014. Charlie Riedel / AP file
“If he were to increase the numbers, the Russians would match him, and the Chinese” would ramp up their nuclear ambitions, Joe Cirincione, a nuclear expert and an MSNBC contributor, said, referring to the president.


“There hasn’t been a military mission that’s required a nuclear weapon in 71 years,” Cirincione said.


Details of the July 20 meeting, which have not been previously reported, shed additional light on tensions among the commander in chief, members of his Cabinet and the uniformed leadership of the Pentagon stemming from vastly different world views, experiences and knowledge bases.


Related: Tillerson's Fury at Trump Required Intervention From Pence


Moreover, the president’s comments reveal that Trump, who suggested before his inauguration that the U.S. “must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability,” voiced that desire as commander in chief directly to the military leadership in the heart of the Pentagon this summer.


Some officials in the Pentagon meeting were rattled by the president’s desire for more nuclear weapons and his understanding of other national security issues from the Korean Peninsula to Iraq and Afghanistan, the officials said.



Follow
Donald J. Trump ✔@realDonaldTrump
Departing The Pentagon after meetings with @VP Pence, Secretary James Mattis, and our great teams. #MAGA����
12:27 AM - Jul 21, 2017
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That meeting followed one held a day earlier in the White House Situation Room focused on Afghanistan in which the president stunned some of his national security team. At that July 19 meeting, according to senior administration officials, Trump asked military leaders to fire the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan and compared their advice to that of a New York restaurant consultant whose poor judgment cost a business valuable time and money.


Two people familiar with the discussion said the Situation Room meeting, in which the president’s advisers anticipated he would sign off on a new Afghanistan strategy, was so unproductive that the advisers decided to continue the discussion at the Pentagon the next day in a smaller setting where the president could perhaps be more focused. “It wasn’t just the number of people. It was the idea of focus,” according to one person familiar with the discussion. The thinking was: “Maybe we need to slow down a little and explain the whole world” from a big-picture perspective, this person said.


The Pentagon meeting was also attended by Vice President Mike Pence; Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin; Gen. Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Gen. Paul Selva, the vice chairman; Defense Secretary James Mattis; Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan; Stephen Bannon, then Trump’s chief strategist; Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law and senior adviser; and Reince Preibus, then chief of staff. Sean Spicer, then the White House spokesman, and Keith Schiller, who was director of Oval Office operations at the time, also accompanied Trump to the Pentagon that day.


Related: Donald Trump Has History of Mixed Messages on Nuclear Weapons


Asked for a response to the president’s comments, a White House official speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that the nuclear arsenal was not a primary topic of the briefing. Dana White, spokesperson for the Pentagon said “the secretary of defense has many closed sessions with the president and his cabinet members. Those conversations are privileged.”


President Trump responded Wednesday morning on Twitter:




Donald J. Trump ✔@realDonaldTrump
Fake @NBCNews made up a story that I wanted a "tenfold" increase in our U.S. nuclear arsenal. Pure fiction, made up to demean. NBC = CNN!
8:45 PM - Oct 11, 2017
17,606 17,606 Replies 16,636 16,636 Retweets 62,963 62,963 likes


Later Wednesday, the president said he "never discussed increasing" the size of the nuclear arsenal, repeating his claim of "fake news."


"Right now, we have so many nuclear weapons," Trump said at a press availability with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. "I want them in perfect condition, perfect shape. That's the only thing I've ever discussed." Defense Secretary Mattis also called the NBC report "absolutely false."


At the time of the meeting, White told reporters that the meeting “covered the planet,” and that the president’s advisers “went around the world,” outlining what she described as the challenges and opportunities for the U.S.


Two senior administration officials said the president’s advisers outlined the reasons an expansion of America’s nuclear arsenal is not feasible. They pointed to treaty obligations and budget restraints and noted to him that today’s total conventional and nonconventional military arsenal leaves the U.S. in a stronger defense posture than it was when the nuclear arsenal alone was larger.


Still, officials said they are working to address the president’s concerns within the Nuclear Posture Review, which is expected to be finalized by the end of 2017 or early next year. “He’s all in for modernization,” one official said. “His concerns are the U.S. stopped investing in this.”





Officials present said that Trump’s comments on a significantly increased arsenal came in response to a briefing slide that outlined America’s nuclear stockpile over the past 70 years. The president referenced the highest number on the chart — about 32,000 in the late 1960s — and told his team he wanted the U.S. to have that many now, officials said.


The U.S. currently has around 4,000 nuclear warheads in its military stockpile, according to the Federation of American Scientists.


The Pentagon is currently undergoing the long-planned posture review. Modernizing the arsenal is a step presidents continuously take that doesn’t put the U.S. in violation of treaty obligations, Cirincione said.


“You don’t get in trouble for modernizing," he said. "You do get in trouble if you do one of two things: if you increase the numbers. The strategic weapons are treaty limited. Two, if you build a new type of weapon that is prohibited by a treaty."


It’s unclear which portion of the Pentagon briefing prompted Tillerson to call the president a “moron” after the meeting broke up and some advisers were gathered around. Officials who attended the two-hour session said it included a number of tense exchanges.


At one point, Trump responded to a presentation on the U.S. military presence in South Korea by asking why South Koreans aren’t more appreciative and welcoming of American defense aid. The comment prompted intervention from a senior military official in the room to explain the overall relationship and why such help is ultimately beneficial to U.S. national security interests.


Trump has been inconsistent with regards to his stance on nuclear weapons.


At one of the earliest Republican debates, in December of 2015, then-candidate Trump seemed to stumble through a question about the nuclear triad, the land, air, and sea-based systems present in a traditional nuclear arsenal.


Asked three months later about U.S. policy on nonproliferation, Trump said on CNN: "Maybe it’s going to have to be time to change, because so many people, you have Pakistan has it, you have China has it.”


When pressed, he allowed, "I don’t want more nuclear weapons.”


But his suggestion that the world could see an increase in nuclear weapons after decades of post-Cold War reductions rattled America’s allies and drew criticism from foreign policy experts and U.S. officials at the time.


The president left the Pentagon on July 20, telling reporters the meeting was “absolutely great.”


https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/don...eaders-n809701

Originally Posted by uncle junior

HuffPo article saying Trump denies he said something as proof of debunking...clowns be clownin...innit

You didn't read the part where he was backed up by Mattis.
“Recent reports that the president called for an increase in the U.S. nuclear arsenal are absolutely false. This kind.

he is doing fantastic and would win again the next election, simply because everyone is tired of those dodgy politician professionals