Trump's 'fire and fury' comment was an echo of Harry Truman's address after he dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima


President Trump's alarming warning to North Korea on Tuesday stunned many Americans, with Sen. John McCain observing that "the great leaders I've seen don't threaten unless they're ready to act and I'm not sure President Trump is ready to act." While it isn't clear how pre-planned Trump's threat was — that North Korea would draw "fire and fury like the world has never seen" if it continued to intimidate the U.S. — the president's words were nevertheless a clear and chilling echo of former President Harry S. Truman's speech after dropping a nuclear bomb on Hiroshima in 1945, The New York Times reports:
Seventy-two years ago almost to the day, Truman told the Japanese that "if they do not now accept our terms they may expect a rain of ruin from the air, the like of which has never been seen on this Earth."
At the commemoration of the second bomb drop three days later, on Nagasaki, Mayor Tomihisa Taue warned Wednesday that "the nuclear threat will not end as long as nations continue to claim that nuclear weapons are essential for their national security," USA Today reports.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
Quiz of The Week: 2 – 8 August
Have you been paying attention to The Week's news?
-
The week's best photos
In Pictures A volcano stirs, a deathly flower blooms, and more
-
Andy Goldsworthy: Fifty Years – a 'beautiful and raw' exhibition
The Week Recommends This superb career retrospective in Edinburgh brings together more than 200 works from the misunderstood artist
-
ICE scraps age limits amid hiring push
Speed Read Anyone 18 or older can now apply to be an ICE agent
-
Trump's global tariffs take effect, with new additions
Speed Read Tariffs on more than 90 US trading partners went into effect, escalating the global trade war
-
House committee subpoenas Epstein files
Speed Read The House Oversight Committee has issued a subpoena to the Justice Department for its Jeffrey Epstein files with an Aug. 19 deadline
-
India rejects Trump threat over Russian oil
Speed Read The president said he would raise tariffs on India for buying and selling Russian oil
-
NY's Hochul vows response to Texas gerrymander
Speed Read Gov. Kathy Hochul has promised to play ball with redistricting that favors the Democrats
-
Texas Democrats exit state to block redistricting vote
Speed Read More than 51 legislators fled the state in protest of the GOP's plan to redraw congressional districts
-
Trump criticized for firing BLS chief after jobs report
Speed Read Bureau of Labor Statistics chief Erika McEntarfer oversaw a July jobs report that the president claims was rigged
-
Trump revives K-12 Presidential Fitness Test
Speed Read The Obama administration phased the test out in 2012, replacing it with a program focused on overall health rather than standardized benchmarks