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North Korea’s Pushing Trump’s Buttons

A few weeks ago, President Trump once again put the thought of nuclear war with North Korea in the minds of thousands as he boasted about his “nuclear button” on Twitter.

Trump took to social media after being told North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has the “nuclear button” on his desk at all times. Trump’s response?

“…I too have a Nuclear Button, but it a much bigger & more powerful one than his…” Trump wrote on Twitter.

Trump’s response only stirred the brewing pot of confrontation between the United States and North Korea. American allies had begun communication with South Korea, even at the time Trump boldly declared “his button was bigger.”

The president’s language on social media greatly contrasts the moves toward open talks with South Korea, and seemed to take American allies two steps back. Not only did it reveal a growing gap between the United States and South Korea, but the president’s tone created a tidal wave of alarm from lawmakers and national security experts.

Representative Jim Himes, Democrat of Connecticut and member of the House Intelligence Committee said on CNN, “I guess the president regards this as a show of strength,” said Himes. “But as everybody who’s ever been in a, you know, first grade playground recognizes, it’s usually the person who’s most aggressively pounding their chest that is in fact the weak one on the playground.”

Ouch.

Himes isn’t the only one to criticize Trump’s actions on social media. Former counselor to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice Eliot A. Cohen said Trump’s tweet was “spoken like a petulant ten-year-old.”

Trump’s supporters ignorantly brushed off the criticism, even going as far to say the president’s words were “a bracing stand” against North Korea that would force the country to reevaluate.

Trump supporter or not, it is beyond me how anyone could condone his actions on social media. A nuclear war with North Korea isn’t a joke. This is a horrific and very real possibility if our government doesn’t adjust. A possibility that has the potential to affect millions of lives.

North Korea is not a force to be taunted. In the past year, North Korea has made several strides in developing intercontinental ballistic missiles that have the potential to deliver nuclear warheads as far as the United States.

Yet, supporters such as Michael Flynn Jr., son of the president’s former national security adviser, Michael T. Flynn, said Trump’s tweet was “just awesome.” According to Flynn’s tweets, Trump’s social media presence is one of the reasons he was elected, because he’s “not afraid to stand up for his country.”

Standing up for your country as president of the United States doesn’t include acting like a child.

Over twenty years of efforts by the United States and other major world powers have failed to prevent North Korea from producing a nuclear arsenal against international law. Trump believes his predecessors were “too soft” in response to North Korea’s threats. As an alternative, Trump has taken a militant stance, jeopardizing the safety of our nation.

While North Korea should in no way boast about the possibility of international nuclear war, the president should in no way boast about beginning the same war, especially on Twitter. More needs to be done. Our governmental leaders, along with President Trump need change the way they are choosing to communicate with the world.

This is not an elementary school playground. This is real-life, and millions of lives depend on our president to make the right decisions.

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