Reuters / Kevin Lamarque
Every American is going to receive a text alert from Donald Trump today—whether you like it or not. The “presidential alert” will be tested at various times of the day in each time zone on mobile phones, TV, and radio. It will be simply say: “THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed.” The system is meant for use in a national emergency and would be issued at the direction of the president. The alerts will start going out 2:18 p.m. Eastern Time, 1:18 p.m. Central Time, 12:18 p.m. Mountain Time, and 11:18 a.m. Pacific Time. The test message will be transmitted in both English and Spanish, with participants deciding which version to use for their communities. Telecom observers say the messages cannot be muted by users.