Yahoo News 'Dangerous' Donald Trump could launch nuclear strike in 'moment of pique', warns Clinton
Hillary Clinton has said she fears that no one will be able to stop Donald Trump from launching a nuclear attack amid escalating tensions with North Korea.
The Democrat, who lost to the controversial Republican in a shock defeat in the US election last year, said there should be stricter processes in place given there was “such potential for miscalculation.”
It comes a week after the former First Lady described Trump as the “most dangerous president in US history“. She added that the “whole world should be concerned” by him.
Speaking at the London Literature Festival at the SouthBank Centre, Clinton referenced an advert she ran during the presidential campaign in which an army veteran warned against giving Trump access to nuclear codes.
“A lot of people thought I was probably exaggerating it,” Clinton said. “But now we are worried and Congress is worried about whether they can take that power away from Trump so that in a moment of pique he doesn’t pick up that phone and call whoever is sitting in the control centre today.”
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“I tried to raise it before and I’m raising it again here. It’s why members of Congress on both sides are trying to work out how they can contain [Mr Trump].
“There was a recent bit of reporting which said that [Secretary of State Rex] Tillerson, [National Security Adviser HR] McMaster, [White House Chief of Staff John] Kelly, [Defence Secretary James] Mattis – they’re all trying to figure out how they prevent this,” she said.
She added: “I’m worried about [Trump launching a nuclear strike] now. I had big differences with so many of the other people who have been President during my lifetime, but I never worried about that.
“Republicans and Democrats are scratching their heads trying to figure out how they interpose – maybe they’ll say [a nuclear attack] has to be jointly signed off by the secretary of defence and the secretary of state. Some are even saying there should have to be a declaration of war [by Congress].”
Clinton’s comments comes after senator Bob Corker accused Trump of acting “like he’s doing ‘The Apprentice’ or something” following the president’s bellicose speech at the United Nations in which he threatened to destroy North Korea.
Earlier in the month, Trump said that any agreements made by previously US governments with the rogue state had been violated “before the ink was dry”.
“Presidents and their administrations have been talking to North Korea for 25 years, agreements made and massive amounts of money paid…” he wrote.
He added: “…hasn’t worked, agreements violated before the ink was dry, making fools of U.S. negotiators. Sorry, but only one thing will work!”
Corker said that Trump “concerns” him. “He would have to concern anyone who cares about our nation,” the senator, who announced his retirement last month, said.
“I know he has hurt, in several instances. He’s hurt us as it relates to negotiations that were underway by tweeting things out,” Corker told the New York Times.
“A lot of people think that there is some kind of ‘good cop, bad cop’ act underway [between Trump and Rex Tillerson], but that’s just not true.”
In September, North Korea tested its most powerful nuclear weapon to date, with a 6.3-magnitude earthquake registered at its Punggye-ri testing site. Ad:
