House Speaker Nancy Pelosi did something unprecedented in US history, calling Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley recently to request that he makes it harder for President Trump to launch nukes.
As pressure is growing to remove Trump from office through the 25th Amendment or to resign, Pelosi said she is concerned he could go berserk and order a nuclear strike.
‘This Unhinged President Could Not Be More Dangerous’
In her statement on the call to Milley, Pelosi said her decision was motivated by concern that Trump has become “unhinged” and could do something as dramatic as launch a nuclear attack during his final days in office.
“This morning, I spoke to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley to discuss available precautions for preventing an unstable president from initiating military hostilities or accessing the launch codes and ordering a nuclear strike,” Pelosi wrote.
“The situation of this unhinged President could not be more dangerous, and we must do everything that we can to protect the American people from his unbalanced assault on our country and our democracy,” she added.
Milley told her there are safeguards in place to prevent any impulsive nuclear strike. He reportedly almost stepped down last June after walking with the President to St. John’s Church, which some considered a breach between the civilian and military separation and posse comitatus.
The Posse Comitatus Act is a United States federal law signed on June 18, 1878, by President Rutherford B. Hayes which limits the powers of the federal government in the use of federal military personnel to enforce domestic policies within the United States.
Milley said it was a “mistake” to appear with Trump publicly at that time.
🚨PELOSI says she’s spoken to Milley about preventing trump from launching nukes. pic.twitter.com/XIhGqr5QUq
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) January 8, 2021
The Democrats are Ramping up the Rhetoric
Threats about removing or impeaching Trump are ramping up in the House and Pelosi continues to put pressure on VP Mike Pence to call on Trump to leave. Barring that, Pelosi says the House will move forward with impeachment.
“Nearly fifty years ago, after years of enabling their rogue President, Republicans in Congress finally told President Nixon that it was time to go. Today, following the President’s dangerous and sedition acts, Republicans in Congress need to follow their example and call on Trump to depart his office — immediately. If the President does not leave office imminently and willingly, the Congress will proceed with our action,” Pelosi said.
The thing is that impeachment is a political no-go and Trump is almost about to leave office anyway. So what’s behind all this renewed fervor? Is Pelosi really worried Trump might start a nuclear war in the next few days?
Can Milley Really Overrule Trump on a Nuclear Strike?
Pelosi’s call to Milley appears to be at least partly about putting on a public performance and scaring the daylights out of the American people. With the GOP-controlled Senate there’s no likely way they would OK the removal of Trump considering the amount of candidates whose political careers could be ruined if the base turns on them.
While there is no way to predict what any President might do, it seems highly unlikely that Trump will order a nuclear attack during his final days in office. God forbid, if he did do so, it is not clear what precautions and safeguards Milley is talking about except perhaps attempts by top military leadership to convince him not to do it.
Pelosi is thus ramping up the fear factor, but it is unclear how Milley would – or would be allowed – to go about getting in the way of the President’s full power to use the nuclear command system if and when he wishes.
