The president has claimed to be good at staffing his White House, but a simple look at just how many high-profile officials are either embroiled in scandal or have had to leave D.C. since assuming their new posts proves otherwise.
With this issue in mind, it’s unsurprising but remains concerning that while speaking to reporters recently, the Secretary of Homeland Security effectively completely dismissed the significance of the president threatening North Korea on Twitter.
Trump made his most recent Twitter threats against the North Koreans this past Tuesday night, responding to New Year’s remarks from the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
In those remarks, the North Korean leader warned the U.S. that the “button” to launch nuclear weapons sits on his desk at all times.
Trump responded with a tweet that made much of the world shake its collective head, writing that he has a button too, but his is bigger than the one possessed by the North Korean leader.
Trump wrote:
‘North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un just stated that the “Nuclear Button is on his desk at all times.” Will someone from his depleted and food starved regime please inform him that I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my Button works!’
That’s just not how diplomacy works, but the president has not shown much of a sustained interest in diplomacy. Instead, he has stuck to trusting in the might of the military, having suggested numerous times at this point that military action is the only legitimate way forward in dealing with North Korea’s nuclear arsenal.
Were the United States to move forward with military action against North Korea, it would no doubt result in the loss of countless lives, not excluding the possibility of American casualties. The North Koreans could lash out against our nearby allies South Korea and Japan, while also training their sights on the United States.
And yet, even still, the president spent his Tuesday night tweeting threats against the North Koreans, and if the Secretary of Homeland Security thinks that such is a big deal, she certainly isn’t showing it.
On Tuesday night, pressed for comment by CBS, Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen said little besides that the president “speaks for himself.”
She told reporters when asked for comment late Tuesday:
‘I have not seen the tweet… the president speaks for himself, and I think we have to continue, as he said, to take the threat from North Korea very seriously. Certainly at DHS we are doing all we can to prepare for any possible scenarios that would involve the homeland, whether it be from North Korea or any other nation state or terrorist adversary.’
Watch her remarks for yourself below.
Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen says “the president speaks for himself” in response to a reporter’s question about a recent tweet in which President Trump states “I too have a Nuclear Button…and my Button works!”
More: https://t.co/tPaz1FAkEI pic.twitter.com/9PrPIjh5P9
— NBC News (@NBCNews) January 3, 2018
At least within the context of the president’s tweet, the DHS Secretary misrepresented the president’s remarks. He didn’t say, “We need to continue to take the threat of North Korea very seriously.” He said, “My button is bigger than your button.”
His threats against the North Koreans reach back to at least August of last year and have coincided with the nation claiming to have developed the capability to attack the United States with a nuclear weapon.
The nation is said to be seemingly readying for yet another missile test.
Featured Image via Screenshot from the Video.
