Bobby Knight suggests Donald Trump would have the 'guts' to nuke an enemy
Legendary former Indiana University basketball coach Bobby Knight is a big fan of Harry Truman and Donald Trump, the latter of whom he has endorsed for president. At a Trump rally in Indiana on Thursday, Knight raised some eyebrows when he compared the two men. "Harry Truman, with what he did in dropping and having the guts to drop the bomb in 1944 saved, saved billions of American lives," Knight said, with Trump smiling next to him. "And that's what Harry Truman did. And he became one of the three great presidents of the United States. And here's a man who would do the same thing, because he's going to become one of the four great presidents of the United States."
A 2015 survey of 162 American political scientists did find Truman ranked highly among U.S. presidents, at No. 6, but his decision to drop atomic bombs on Japan, especially the second one on Nagasaki, is still controversial. Trump himself warns that nuclear weapons are the "single greatest threat" to the world, though he said Thursday morning that he "will never, ever rule... out" using a nuclear weapon on the Islamic State. On CNN Thursday night, Wolf Blitzer asked Trump spokeswoman Katrina Pierson about Knight's comments. "Well, I think this is just an example of what people are associating with Mr. Trump's strength and leadership, not the fact that he would actually drop an A-bomb," she said. You can watch below. Peter Weber
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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
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