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Donald Trump reportedly suggested to his national security officials that nuclear bombs could be dropped on hurricanes at sea to stop them making landfall in the United States.
During a briefing early in his presidency, Mr Trump asked if it would be possible to disrupt hurricanes forming in the Atlantic by dropping a nuclear weapon in the eye of the storm, Axios reported.
The US president reportedly said: "I got it. I got it. Why don't we nuke them? 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?"
Attendees at the meeting left thinking, "What do we do with this?," according to Axios.
Mr Trump categorically denied the report, calling it "ridiculous".
"The story by Axios that President Trump wanted to blow up large hurricanes with nuclear weapons prior to reaching shore is ridiculous," he said. "I never said this. Just more FAKE NEWS!"
The White House declined to comment on the report.
However, Axios quoted a senior administration official as saying that the "objective" of stopping hurricanes was "not bad."
Axios also reported the president had made a similar suggestion in another conversation in 2017, asking a senior official whether the administration should bomb hurricanes.
He was not said to have specified nuclear bombs on that occasion.
The idea of bombing hurricanes is not a new one, and was originally proposed by a government scientist in the 1950s under President Dwight Eisenhower.
Since then it has continued to pop up, even though scientists agree it would not work.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has previously published its conclusion. It said: "During each hurricane season, there always appear suggestions that one should simply use nuclear weapons to try and destroy the storms. Needless to say, this is not a good idea."
The US is regularly pummelled by hurricanes. In 2017 one named Harvey became the strongest hurricane to make landfall in 12 years.
Twitter lit up with reactions to Mr Trump’s suggestion, with many users appearing shocked.
"Not ’The Onion,’" one user wrote, referring to the satirical news publication known for outlandish headlines.
"What could possibly go wrong?" asked another.
Many tweets also included the hashtag ThatsHowTheApocalypseStarted.
Democratic presidential hopeful Kamala Harris weighed in as well, tweeting, "Dude’s gotta go."
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/20...ted-dropping-nuclear-bombs-divert-hurricanes/
During a briefing early in his presidency, Mr Trump asked if it would be possible to disrupt hurricanes forming in the Atlantic by dropping a nuclear weapon in the eye of the storm, Axios reported.
The US president reportedly said: "I got it. I got it. Why don't we nuke them? 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?"
Attendees at the meeting left thinking, "What do we do with this?," according to Axios.
Mr Trump categorically denied the report, calling it "ridiculous".
"The story by Axios that President Trump wanted to blow up large hurricanes with nuclear weapons prior to reaching shore is ridiculous," he said. "I never said this. Just more FAKE NEWS!"
The White House declined to comment on the report.
However, Axios quoted a senior administration official as saying that the "objective" of stopping hurricanes was "not bad."
Axios also reported the president had made a similar suggestion in another conversation in 2017, asking a senior official whether the administration should bomb hurricanes.
He was not said to have specified nuclear bombs on that occasion.
The idea of bombing hurricanes is not a new one, and was originally proposed by a government scientist in the 1950s under President Dwight Eisenhower.
Since then it has continued to pop up, even though scientists agree it would not work.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has previously published its conclusion. It said: "During each hurricane season, there always appear suggestions that one should simply use nuclear weapons to try and destroy the storms. Needless to say, this is not a good idea."
The US is regularly pummelled by hurricanes. In 2017 one named Harvey became the strongest hurricane to make landfall in 12 years.
Twitter lit up with reactions to Mr Trump’s suggestion, with many users appearing shocked.
"Not ’The Onion,’" one user wrote, referring to the satirical news publication known for outlandish headlines.
"What could possibly go wrong?" asked another.
Many tweets also included the hashtag ThatsHowTheApocalypseStarted.
Democratic presidential hopeful Kamala Harris weighed in as well, tweeting, "Dude’s gotta go."
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/20...ted-dropping-nuclear-bombs-divert-hurricanes/
