Trump Suggested Using Nuclear Bombs to Stop Hurricanes From Hitting U.S.: Axios
“His objective is not bad,” a senior administration official told Axios. The president later tweeted a denial that he ever made the suggestion.

Scott Kelly NASA/Getty
President Trump repeatedly suggested to senior homeland security and national security officials that they look into using nuclear weapons to prevent hurricanes from hitting the United States, Axios reports. “I got it. I got it. Why don’t we nuke them?” the president reportedly said during a briefing on hurricanes at the White House, according to a someone who was present, Axios reports. “You could hear a gnat fart in that meeting. People were astonished,” a source who was present at the time told Axios. “After the meeting ended, we thought, ‘What the f---? What do we do with this?’’ Trump reportedly floated the idea in the first year of his presidency—before John Bolton became national security adviser—but it never made it to a formal policy process, according to sources present at meetings where Trump’s novel approach was breached. In response to questions about the the idea, a senior administration official reportedly defended the president, arguing that his heart was in the right place. “(Trump’s) goal—to keep a catastrophic hurricane from hitting the mainland—is not bad,” the official told Axios. “His objective is not bad.” The president later tweeted a denial that he had ever made the suggestion. “The story by Axios that President Trump wanted to blow up large hurricanes with nuclear weapons prior to reaching shore is ridiculous,” he tweeted. “I never said this. Just more FAKE NEWS!”
The story by Axios that President Trump wanted to blow up large hurricanes with nuclear weapons prior to reaching shore is ridiculous. I never said this. Just more FAKE NEWS!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 26, 2019
Register below to read this article for free or subscribe
to unlock unlimited access to The Daily Beast.
Monthly
$1
First month then $5.99/month
Annual
$35
First year then $59.99/year
Premium
$79
First year then $119.99/year
*Substack access provided by the next business day, using your subscription email. Choosing the Premium plan constitutes your permission to share your subscription email with Substack and your agreement to Substack’s Privacy Policy.
Already have an account? Sign In
Looks like you already have a subscription!
You're all set!
Thanks for subscribing.