An Open Letter to Undecided Voters: A Nuclear-Armed Trump is the #1 Threat to National Security
There is nothing safe about nuclear weapons, but these weapons become immediately more dangerous when placed in the hands of an unpredictable bully like Trump. No one person should be able to unilaterally launch nuclear weapons, as any president is currently able to do, and while we must work to change that policy, the immediate question before us is whether or not to give Donald Trump the ability to start a nuclear war and end life as we know it. The answer is quite clearly Not. That’s why we’ve joined others in writing this letter to undecided voters urging them to take into account the risk of Donald Trump having his finger on the nuclear button.
The full text of the letter is below:
We, the undersigned organizations, represent millions of Americans. Our issues are many and our approaches are diverse. We seek to advance international security, environmental and racial justice, immigration reform, sensible gun control laws, and rights for our veterans.
You, as an undecided voter, are one of millions of Americans sitting on the fence. You’re not sure who you should vote for come November 8th. Maybe you’re wondering if you should vote at all. And with this race tighter than ever, your decision will determine the next President.
The list of reasons not to vote for Donald Trump is long. There’s also a good chance many items on that list (like the issues we work on) aren’t the ones that compel you to get up and vote. But we are coming together now to talk to you about the one that should: Donald Trump and nuclear weapons.
There is no more urgent threat to Americans — and the world — than Donald Trump with absolute power over our nuclear arsenal. As President, he will have total authority over more than 4,500 of these devastating weapons of mass destruction. If a President Trump ordered a nuclear strike, no one could stop him. He could kill hundreds of millions of people at the push of a button — and provoke a response that could utterly destroy the United States.
A nuclear-armed Trump is the greatest threat to national security in recent memory.
This view is backed by leading security experts, diplomats, and the American public. Leaders from both parties, including 50 GOP national security officials, warn that Trump isn’t fit to command our nuclear arsenal and would put the nation at risk. 75 former ambassadors say that he is ignorant of the complex challenges of nuclear proliferation. Americans agree: only 27% trust him with nuclear weapons.
Donald Trump himself has repeatedly demonstrated that he does not have the temperament, the discipline, or the expertise to be our Commander-in-Chief. Time and again, he has shown himself easily baited and quick to lash out, dismissive of expert consultation, ill-informed of even basic international and military affairs. He alienates our allies and emboldens our enemies. His racist and xenophobic rhetoric endangers vulnerable populations and incites violence at home and abroad.
There is a long public record documenting the inflammatory statements Trump has made about nuclear weapons. Here are just a few:
In August, Donald Trump reportedly asked “If we have nuclear weapons, why can’t we use them?” three times in a 1-hour policy briefing.
When told that no one wants to hear an American president asserting he would use nuclear weapons, Trump asked “Then why are we making them? Why do we make them?”
Contradicting decades of U.S. foreign policy, he has said more countries — like South Korea, Japan and Saudi Arabia — should develop their own nuclear weapons.
He has refused to rule out dropping nuclear weapons on Europe because “Europe is a big place.”
Donald Trump’s reckless nuclear posturing is made all the more terrifying by the fact that our nuclear system would let him do exactly what he’s threatened, and more. It is built for first-strike and quick-launch at the president’s sole discretion. There are no checks or balances. There is nothing between President Trump’s itchy trigger finger and civilization-ending weapons. No requirement even for him to explain his decision to use them.
There’s a lot riding on this election, but one thing is clear: Donald Trump is a nuclear catastrophe waiting to happen, and that’s a risk we just can’t take.
That’s why we’re calling on undecided American voters to vote for security, and do not vote for Donald Trump.
Talk to your friends and family about why you’re terrified at the prospect of Trump’s fingers on the button. Polls have shown Americans are most concerned about the nuclear issue when it comes to a potential President Trump, so we know it will resonate. Organize and mobilize your community to turn out the vote and stop Donald Trump from becoming president.
Our country needs you. Vote against a nuclear armed Trump. Our future is in your hands.
Signed,
AllofUs
Daily Kos
Global Zero Action
LeftAction
Not Who We Are
Peace Action
Women’s Action for New Direction
The question for progressive independents is not whether to vote for Trump…it’s whether to vote for Jill Stein or Hillary. I wish you had addressed that dilemma directly.
You are a MORON!!!! Killary is the prime threat to start a REAL nuclear war- with the Russkies!!! She has the unqualified support of war criminal Henry Kissinger and neocon Strangeloves such as Elliot Abrams, Robert Kagan, Victoria Nuland, Geoffrey Pyatt, Dubya Bush, as well as American Exceptionalist Imperialists like Max Boot, Jeffrey Goldberg, Johnny McCain, et. al. While Donald might drop a gratuitous nuke or two on some defenseless people who can’t do anything to us, he, unlike that dumb [deleted], IS smart enough not to provoke that big, bad, NUCLEAR-ARMED RUSSIAN BEAR!!!! Killary is obsessed with trying to engineer REGIME CHANGE IN RUSSIA!!! And that [deleted] and the DNC have the sheer effrontery to whine about Russia “influencing” the U.S. presidential election! In case you don’t know it, the U. S. CIA specializes in “influencing” foreign governments by OVERTHROWING THEM!!! You and Killary are staunch acolytes of the War Party; I belong to the Peace Party! Unlike Killary and the neolibcons, I do not consider it to be the paragon of wisdom to play nuclear chicken and brinkmanship with the Russkies! As Donald says, we should be working with the Russkies, doing deals with the Russkies, NOT trying to destroy the Russkies!!!
Hi Eugene,
Thanks for taking the time to comment.
We’ve edited out the several sexist vulgarities in your post as this is a moderated blog. Beyond that you might persuade more without all the exclamation points and all caps etc. We encourage those commenting here to engage intellectually and to seek to discuss and persuade and explore the issues rather than simply hyperbolically attack. We realize there’s a lot of that strident tone out there on various online media forums but we are inviting people to take a different approach with Groundswell.
Thanks Elizabeth. Thats not what this post or letter is about and we’ve decided to focus on this particular danger. As far as direct electoral advocacy we’re focused on electing progressives to Congress as you can see in other posts.