Trident: Labour would sign UN treaty banning nuclear weapons “It’s difficult for a President by himself to initiate a nuclear strike – there has to be a process.” Second strike Missiles on parade in Pyongyang (Photo: Getty) “There is also a command set-up through the National Security Council where there will be recommendations made and there will be lawyers involved because – believe it or not – there are legal processes involved in a nuclear strike.” That sort of irrationality just isn’t there,” Mr Beaver says “There are so many checks any balances there that he can’t just say ‘I missed the tenth green, I blame the North Koreans, let’s launch a strike’. ‘I blame the North Koreans’ Kim Jong-un has continued his nuclear and ballistic missile tests (Photo: Getty) Reports have revealed that the key object is in fact a briefcase known as the “nuclear football” – containing codes, a list of options and a description of the protocol. “Should the President be in Florida, on the golf course, it is possible for him to initiate a nuclear action should that be appropriate.” “There’s always somebody within reach of the President at any time, normally with a very sophisticated laptop,” Mr Beaver says.

(There are multiple footballs that allow a president to launch a military strike while traveling.If the prints scan, the keys turn and the codewords match, however, it’s true that the Commander-in-Chief, which is one of the roles of the US President, is the one who makes the decision to initiate a nuclear strike. Trump's being physically out of Washington will not affect his launch authority or access to the football until noon.

official said that a military aide will accompany Trump to Florida with one of the footballs and that Trump will retain sole authority to launch a nuclear strike until 11:59:59 a.m. It will be the first time in the nuclear age that a sitting president has not attended his successor's inauguration.Ī U.S.

Capitol.īecause Trump plans to be in Florida when Biden is sworn in, the handoff will happen differently.

Typically, the handoff takes place at the inauguration ceremony at the U.S. However, for the first time, the outgoing president, Donald Trump, will not hand off the black leather case to the incoming president. Smithsonian Magazine reported that is it officially called the 'president's emergency satchel,' and it is built around a 'sturdy aluminum frame, encased in black leather.' But, the magazine noted, unlike in the movies, it does not have a big red button to launch a nuclear war.

Trump red button gif