Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., claimed that people should be terrified that President-elect Donald Trump will possess the power to initiate a nuclear attack.
In a post on X, Markey noted, “Come January, Donald Trump will have the sole authority to launch a nuclear strike. This should terrify you. That’s why @RepTedLieu and I are urging @POTUS to put guardrails on presidential authority to start nuclear war.”
Trump — who trounced Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 White House contest by winning both the Electoral College and the popular vote — previously served as president from early 2017 through early 2021. And during his Oval Office tenure, he never used nuclear weapons.
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Left: Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., attends the second day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center on Aug. 20, 2024, in Chicago, Ill.; Right: President-Elect Donald Trump reacts during his meeting with Prince William, Prince of Wales at the Embassy of the United Kingdom’s Residence on Dec. 7, 2024, in Paris, France. (Left: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images; Right: Oleg Nikishin/Getty Images)
He has also been outspoken about the massive danger posed by nuclear weapons.
“To me, we have one really major threat: That’s called nuclear weapons,” Trump said earlier this year. “This isn’t Army tanks going back and forth and shooting at each other. This is obliteration,” he said of the powerful weapons. “We have incredible stuff, so does Russia. China has much less but” will “catch up,” Trump said, calling the issue the “single biggest threat by far to civilization.”
Josh Barnett, who lost in a Republican primary for an Arizona state Senate seat earlier this year, responded to Markey’s post by writing, “LOL he had the authority the last four years he was in office.”
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President-elect Donald Trump speaking. (Peter Kramer/NBC via…
