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Trump repeatedly asked if China had secret ‘hurricane gun’ and if US could retaliate, report saysGraeme Massie
THE INDEPENDENT
Tue, May 10, 2022,
Donald Trump repeatedly asked White House national security aides if China had a “hurricane gun” to shoot damaging man-made storms at the United States, a report says.
The one-term president demanded to know if such a weapon would constitute an act of war and whether his military could retaliate against the nuclear power, three unnamed former officials told Rolling Stone magazine.
“It was almost too stupid for words,” one source told the magazine, which said that the person was “intimately familiar” with Mr Trump’s questioning.
“I did not get the sense he was joking at all,” the source added.
Mr Trump seemingly had a deep personal interest in hurricanes while the occupant of the Oval Office and has suggested that the military should bomb hurricanes before they make landfall.
According to Axios, in 201 the then-president asked national security and homeland security officials about the threat posed to the US mainland by the storms.
“I got it. I got it. Why don’t we nuke them?” he reportedly said,
“They start forming off the coast of Africa, as they’re moving across the Atlantic, we drop a bomb inside the eye of the hurricane and it disrupts it. Why can’t we do that?”
Mr Trump, who has denied the claim, was reportedly told by one unnamed official: “We’ll look into this.”
Shortly after Mr Trump became president, National Geographic published an article stating that the idea of hitting hurricanes with a nuclear bomb had been raised over the years.
The article said that it was a “really bad idea” with “a surprising history.”
Mr Trump also discussed Hurricane Dorian in the Oval Office, and appeared alongside a National Hurricane Center map that seemed to have been altered with a black pen.
The alteration showed the hurricane’s path hitting Alabama, in an apparent effort to stand up a false claim that Mr Trump had made earlier.
Tue, May 10, 2022,
Donald Trump repeatedly asked White House national security aides if China had a “hurricane gun” to shoot damaging man-made storms at the United States, a report says.
The one-term president demanded to know if such a weapon would constitute an act of war and whether his military could retaliate against the nuclear power, three unnamed former officials told Rolling Stone magazine.
“It was almost too stupid for words,” one source told the magazine, which said that the person was “intimately familiar” with Mr Trump’s questioning.
“I did not get the sense he was joking at all,” the source added.
Mr Trump seemingly had a deep personal interest in hurricanes while the occupant of the Oval Office and has suggested that the military should bomb hurricanes before they make landfall.
According to Axios, in 201 the then-president asked national security and homeland security officials about the threat posed to the US mainland by the storms.
“I got it. I got it. Why don’t we nuke them?” he reportedly said,
“They start forming off the coast of Africa, as they’re moving across the Atlantic, we drop a bomb inside the eye of the hurricane and it disrupts it. Why can’t we do that?”
Mr Trump, who has denied the claim, was reportedly told by one unnamed official: “We’ll look into this.”
Shortly after Mr Trump became president, National Geographic published an article stating that the idea of hitting hurricanes with a nuclear bomb had been raised over the years.
The article said that it was a “really bad idea” with “a surprising history.”
Mr Trump also discussed Hurricane Dorian in the Oval Office, and appeared alongside a National Hurricane Center map that seemed to have been altered with a black pen.
The alteration showed the hurricane’s path hitting Alabama, in an apparent effort to stand up a false claim that Mr Trump had made earlier.
Trump Reportedly Asked Aides If China Could Be Shooting Hurricanes At The U.S.
Josephine Harvey
HuffPost
Tue, May 10, 2022
Donald Trump’s fantastical theories about hurricanes were apparently not limited to nuking them.
During his first year in office, the former president repeatedly asked national security aides if China had secret technology or weapons that could create hurricanes and shoot them at the U.S., according to Rolling Stone.
Citing two unnamed former senior administration officials and a third person briefed on the matter, the magazine reported that Trump inquired repeatedly whether this would constitute an act of war and asked if the U.S. could retaliate.
“It was almost too stupid for words,” one former White House official told Rolling Stone. “I did not get the sense he was joking at all.”
This inquiry was mocked in some official circles as the “Hurricane Gun” thing, according to the magazine.
China has attempted to modify weather to protect agricultural regions or improve major events such as the Olympics. However, there is no evidence to suggest the country has the technology to generate massive storms and then fire them across the world.
During Trump’s first year in office, Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico while two major storms hit the mainland U.S., Hurricanes Harvey and Irma.
As president, Trump made headlines on multiple occasions for bizarre weather-related antics, including the infamous 2019 “Sharpiegate” incident in which he held up a map of Hurricane Dorian’s trajectory that appeared edited to show the storm potentially affecting a portion of Alabama. (Trump had incorrectly tweeted days earlier that Alabama would likely be in the storm’s path).
The same year, Axios reported that Trump suggested on multiple occasions during his first year in office that homeland and national security officials explore the possibility of using nuclear bombs to stop hurricanes from hitting the U.S.
Trump later vehemently denied ever making the suggestion.
He has also made a confusing patchwork of comments about his position on climate change. He has called it a “hoax” while also claiming it is “very important to me.” Once, in 2012, Trump famously argued that climate change was “created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive.” He later claimed he was joking.
This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.
Tue, May 10, 2022
Donald Trump’s fantastical theories about hurricanes were apparently not limited to nuking them.
During his first year in office, the former president repeatedly asked national security aides if China had secret technology or weapons that could create hurricanes and shoot them at the U.S., according to Rolling Stone.
Citing two unnamed former senior administration officials and a third person briefed on the matter, the magazine reported that Trump inquired repeatedly whether this would constitute an act of war and asked if the U.S. could retaliate.
“It was almost too stupid for words,” one former White House official told Rolling Stone. “I did not get the sense he was joking at all.”
This inquiry was mocked in some official circles as the “Hurricane Gun” thing, according to the magazine.
China has attempted to modify weather to protect agricultural regions or improve major events such as the Olympics. However, there is no evidence to suggest the country has the technology to generate massive storms and then fire them across the world.
During Trump’s first year in office, Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico while two major storms hit the mainland U.S., Hurricanes Harvey and Irma.
As president, Trump made headlines on multiple occasions for bizarre weather-related antics, including the infamous 2019 “Sharpiegate” incident in which he held up a map of Hurricane Dorian’s trajectory that appeared edited to show the storm potentially affecting a portion of Alabama. (Trump had incorrectly tweeted days earlier that Alabama would likely be in the storm’s path).
The same year, Axios reported that Trump suggested on multiple occasions during his first year in office that homeland and national security officials explore the possibility of using nuclear bombs to stop hurricanes from hitting the U.S.
Trump later vehemently denied ever making the suggestion.
He has also made a confusing patchwork of comments about his position on climate change. He has called it a “hoax” while also claiming it is “very important to me.” Once, in 2012, Trump famously argued that climate change was “created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive.” He later claimed he was joking.
This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.
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