Jake Tapper distills Trump's nuclear worldview to 3 alarming points

On Wednesday, CNN's Jake Tapper boiled down President Trump's school of thought on nuclear weapons to three points: "a confusion as to why the U.S. has taken the use of nuclear weapons off the table, a desire for increased proliferation of nuclear weapons, and a clear lack of policy depth about nuclear weapons." Tapper said these "recurring themes" emerged after a review of Trump's statements about nuclear weapons over the last two decades.
The culmination of Trump's nuclear weapons worldview is the president's recent threat against North Korea. Tapper contended that Trump's vow Tuesday to rain down "fire and fury" on North Korea if its nuclear threats continue "fits the pattern" of Trump "speaking more loosely — and, in the view of critics, recklessly — about the most devastating weapon known to man." "To state the obvious, this is a time when words should be chosen and measured carefully," Tapper said, just a day after it was confirmed that North Korea is capable of making nuclear weapons small enough to fit inside missiles.
Watch Tapper's breakdown below. Becca Stanek
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
-
House posts lewd Epstein note attributed to Trump
Speed Read The estate of Jeffrey Epstein turned over the infamous 2003 birthday note from President Donald Trump
-
Supreme Court allows 'roving' race-tied ICE raids
Speed Read The court paused a federal judge's order barring agents from detaining suspected undocumented immigrants in LA based on race
-
South Korea to fetch workers detained in Georgia raid
Speed Read More than 300 South Korean workers detained in an immigration raid at a Hyundai plant will be released
-
DC sues Trump to end Guard 'occupation'
Speed Read D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb argues that the unsolicited military presence violates the law
-
RFK Jr. faces bipartisan heat in Senate hearing
Speed Read The health secretary defended his leadership amid CDC turmoil and deflected questions about the restricted availability of vaccines
-
White House defends boat strike as legal doubts mount
Speed Read Experts say there was no legal justification for killing 11 alleged drug-traffickers
-
Epstein accusers urge full file release, hint at own list
speed read A rally was organized by Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, who are hoping to force a vote on their Epstein Files Transparency Act
-
Court hands Harvard a win in Trump funding battle
Speed Read The Trump administration was ordered to restore Harvard's $2 billion in research grants