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    festivusaziliBrendan O'Connor
    8/03/16 11:01am

    Ahem.

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      Dave festivusazili
      8/03/16 11:13am
      GIF
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      BreakerBakerfestivusazili
      8/03/16 11:20am

      In his very feeble defense, I guess I’d say there’s something subtly different from what he says here and him being briefed on all topics of foreign affairs and having to ask on three separate occasions (presumably on three separate theoretical crises/topics) “why can’t we just nuke them.” Why are we making them/why did we make them is, on many levels, a dumb question you don’t want your would-be president asking, but it’s a kind of rhetorical question that points out the absurdity of having a weapon you’re unwilling to use. And there is something absurd about that.

      However, the question of why we don’t use them is a question you really shouldn’t have to ask once, let alone three times. It doesn’t matter what part of the world you’re talking about, the answer is always the same, and continuing to either cluelessly or flippantly ask that question would seem to underscore that you don’t even begin to grasp the gravity of what you’re implicitly proposing. And that’s a lot worse than the blustery rhetorical “why do we make them?” One can be read as an implicit criticism of policy. The other represents a clear desire to blow shit up for the sake of looking tough, and in the context of somebody who thinks they can end ISIS fast, it’s a pretty terrifying anecdote—if true.

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    thechurchofbillhicksBrendan O'Connor
    8/03/16 11:00am

    “Three times, in an hour briefing: ‘Why can’t we use nuclear weapons?’”

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      Sean Brodythechurchofbillhicks
      8/03/16 11:04am

      Kenya is first on the list for a nuking - just cos - , then “the Muslims.”

      Putin gets to pick after that.

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      phunkshunthechurchofbillhicks
      8/03/16 11:11am

      This picture is solid gold and could be invoked for so many things that Trump has said over the last 2 years.

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    RobertMadooBrendan O'Connor
    8/03/16 10:56am

    It would be really nice if the outrage over this gets some attention to the fact that we’ll be spending $1,000,000,000,000 (trillion) over the next 30 years to modernize our nuclear arsenal.

    A trillion dollars and nuclear weapons seems maybe like something we should be having a national conversation about?

    http://billmoyers.com/story/the-tril…

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      Alaska FrambopolousRobertMadoo
      8/03/16 10:59am

      Hillary addressed this yesterday actually.

      She said we would be saving one trillion dollars, not spending. I think you’re misreading her quote.

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      ideasleepfuriouslyRobertMadoo
      8/03/16 11:01am

      Questions and/or debate about military spending? I....I don’t even understand what that means...

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    Flying Squid (I hate me more than you do.)Brendan O'Connor
    8/03/16 11:00am

    You’d think this would be a serious enough accusation for Trump to address personally and not go through a mouthpiece...

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      Sid and FinancyFlying Squid (I hate me more than you do.)
      8/03/16 11:04am

      Or a hairpiece.

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      IronyIsKingFlying Squid (I hate me more than you do.)
      8/03/16 11:05am

      After the last 3 days he may be duct-taped to a chair on enough thorazine to tranq a water buffalo.

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    AnastraceBrendan O'Connor
    8/03/16 11:16am

    Well, I’m sure he never said that. He’s a very sensible man. I mean, it’s not like there is a transcript where he even said he might use them in Europe or anything.

    MATTHEWS: OK.

    Your most controversial suggestion was don’t take nuclear weapons — I mean, you may have been hooked into this by (inaudible).

    TRUMP: Don’t take what?

    MATTHEWS: Nuclear weapons off the table.

    I have been trying to think of how we could conceivably use a nuclear weapon in the Middle East or in Europe in fighting ISIS. Where can you — and why put it on the table or leave it on the table if you can’t imagine where to use it?

    TRUMP: Well, I didn’t say, “Don’t take it.” I said I would be very, very slow and hesitant to pull that trigger.

    MATTHEWS: Well, why would you — why wouldn’t you just say, “I don’t want to talk about it. I don’t want to talk about nuclear weapons. Presidents don’t talk about use of nuclear weapons”?

    TRUMP: The question was asked — we were talking about NATO — which, by the way, I say is obsolete and we pay a dispropor...

    MATTHEWS: But you got hooked into something you shouldn’t’ve talked about.

    TRUMP: I don’t think I — well, someday, maybe.

    MATTHEWS: When? Maybe?

    TRUMP: Of course. If somebody...

    MATTHEWS: Where would we drop — where would we drop a nuclear weapon in the Middle East?

    TRUMP: Let me explain. Let me explain.

    Somebody hits us within ISIS, you wouldn’t fight back with a nuke?

    MATTHEWS: No. To drop a nuclear weapon on a community of people that are...

    TRUMP: No, no, but you can’t say — first of all, you don’t want to say, “Take everything off the table...”

    MATTHEWS: No, just nuclear.

    TRUMP: ... because you’d be a bad negotiator if you do that.

    MATTHEWS: Just nuclear.

    TRUMP: Look, nuclear should be off the table. But would there be a time when it could be used, possibly, possibly?

    MATTHEWS: OK. The trouble is, when you said that, the whole world heard it. David Cameron in Britain heard it. The Japanese, where we bombed them in ‘45, heard it. They’re hearing a guy running for president of the United States talking of maybe using nuclear weapons. Nobody wants to hear that about an American president.

    TRUMP: Then why are we making them? Why do we make them? We had (inaudible).

    MATTHEWS: Because of the old mutual assured destruction, which Reagan hated and tried to get rid of.

    TRUMP: (inaudible) I was against Iraq. I’d be the last one to use the nuclear weapon.

    MATTHEWS: So can you take it off the table now?

    TRUMP: Because that’s sort of like the end of the ball game.

    MATTHEWS: Can you tell the Middle East we’re not using a nuclear weapon on anybody?

    TRUMP: I would never say that. I would never take any of my cards off the table.

    MATTHEWS: How about Europe? We won’t use it in Europe?

    TRUMP: I — I’m not going to take it off the table.

    MATTHEWS: You might use it in Europe?

    (LAUGHTER)

    TRUMP: No, I don’t think so. But I’m not taking...

    MATTHEWS: Well, just say it. “I will never use a nuclear weapon in Europe.”

    TRUMP: I am not — I am not taking cards off the table.

    MATTHEWS: OK.

    TRUMP: I’m not going to use nuclear, but I’m not taking any cards off the table.

    MATTHEWS: OK.

    The trouble is, the sane people hear you and the insane people are not affected by your threats. That’s the trouble. The real fanatics say, “Good. Keep it up.

    TRUMP: I think — I think they’re more affected than you might think.

    MATTHEWS: OK. Your call.

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      DuffinAnastrace
      8/03/16 11:27am

      Jesus fucking Christ. Won’t even say he won’t fucking bomb Europe, which is filled with a bunch of our allies. Yeah, I’m sure if he get selected, we’re going to have amazingly good relations. What a fuckwit.

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      AnastraceDuffin
      8/03/16 11:37am

      Yeah, that’s why Chris Matthews was hammering that point because it is just incredibly batshit crazy. It’s like he thinks nuclear weapons are just a bigger bomb that solves most problems.

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    GregoireBrendan O'Connor
    8/03/16 11:00am

    Donald Trump was too busy being arrogant and building ugly luxury condos in 1983 to watch the movie The Day After which scared the crap out of everybody else back then.

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      cheerful_exgirlfriendGregoire
      8/03/16 11:04am

      The episode of The Americans when they watched the Day After brought back so many memories for me.

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      phunkshunGregoire
      8/03/16 11:17am

      And this was the movie, but all folklore that actually got Ronald effin Reagan to make sure to open up a line of communication directly to the Kremlin due to things behind the scenes being so closed off. That and Able Archer 83.

      Back channels were so bad back then that we had no idea that the Soviet Union was scared shitless of us and were almost convinced that the US and St. Ronnie were going to actually push the damn button.

      Meanwhile, on our side, we had cold war era dinosaurs that truly believed we could engage in nuclear war and actually come to some sort of pleasing win-state from the whole conflagration.

      The whole situation back then was astounding, which makes Donald Trump’s reality in 2 thousand and fucking SIXTEEN, absolutely terrifying.

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    SpringSprungBrendan O'Connor
    8/03/16 10:57am

    “There’s no truth to this,”campaign spokeswoman Hope Hicks told The Hill.

    He actually asked four times, right? BTW, what are the long term ramifications for 90+ days of no sleep?

    GIF
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      thechurchofbillhicksSpringSprung
      8/03/16 11:12am

      Well, I believe that sleep deprivation causes hallucinations, so you’ve good decent odds that looking at Trump could possibly become less painful. Bright side.

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      StoneColdSteveErkelSpringSprung
      8/03/16 12:16pm

      Its like a child who simply can’t fucking believe he can’t have Oreos for dinner.....

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    ManchuCandidateBrendan O'Connor
    8/03/16 11:01am

    Dr. Strangehair: Or How I Stopped Thinking And Wanted To Use The Bomb

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      DennyCraneBrendan O'Connor
      8/03/16 11:08am

      This is actually sort of consistent with what his campaign has previously said. From back in December 2015, via Mediaite:

      A Donald Trump spokeswoman tonight asked what the point is of having nuclear weapons if the United States is “afraid” to use them.

      ...

      On The O’Reilly Factor tonight, Trump spokeswoman Katrina Pierson attacked Republicans for pushing endless war and talking tough. And then she asked, “What good does it do to have a good nuclear triad if you’re afraid to use it?”

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        gingerhammeredDennyCrane
        8/03/16 11:30am

        Do you think Katrina Pierson knew what the “nuclear triad” is when she used that term?

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        shelwoodgingerhammered
        8/03/16 12:35pm

        “Animal, vegetable and... mineral?”

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      IhpsdmBrendan O'Connor
      8/03/16 10:57am

      I wonder what Hope’s next job will be? This will no doubt look great on her resume.

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        BashingtonIhpsdm
        8/03/16 10:59am

        She’ll go back to working for Ivanka’s clothing line. Hopefully her Mandarin is good.

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        FluteManhawkIhpsdm
        8/03/16 11:00am

        Fourth Mrs Donald J. Trump, probably

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