Less than a day after CNN wondered what would happen if President-elect Trump were assassinated, MSNBC’s Hardball host Chris Matthews tried to instill fear in viewers late Thursday, floating the idea that Trump might need to use the nuclear launch codes on Inauguration Day.
“Five minutes after noon? Trump. So, the voice that's recognized on the phone is commander in chief. He has the potential to do the stuff that scares the bedickens out of people — the dickens out of people who’ve actually been briefed,” Matthews bemoaned to Washington Post columnist Catherine Rampell.
Before this, Matthews first excused Rampell for not having grown up “in the nuclear war age like a lot of us did” in which “you didn’t know whether there was going to be an accident tomorrow or somebody’s going to push the wrong button.”
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Matthews eventually made clear why he had alluded to nuclear war when he lamented about the changeover of power between Obama and Trump concerning the nuclear football:
Starting at noon, I believe tomorrow, the strategic air command — top commander out there — the general, who’s job is to take the call from the commander-in-chief should we get into nuclear situation and it's voice recognition. It’s technology. Five minutes to noon? Obama could make that call. He won’t, of course, but he might. He could. Five minutes after noon? Trump. So, the voice that's recognized on the phone is commander in chief. He has the potential to do the stuff that scares the bedickens out of people — the dickens out of people who’ve actually been briefed.
Rampell emphasized that she’s by no means “play[ing] into the public fears,” but chose to anyway, admitting that Trump possessing keys to nuclear bombs “is somewhat terrifying to me, given that Trump does not have the greatest impulse control and when he says that he gets attacked, he punches back.”
“What does that mean when he has greater weapons with which to punch? I don’t know. One would hope as Obama has stated, Trump will be sober by — and awed by the powers of his new office, by the responsibilities he would be imbued with,” she added.
Here’s the relevant portion of the transcript from MSNBC’s Hardball on January 19:
MSNBC’s Hardball
January 19, 2017
7:08 p.m. Eastern
CHRIS MATTHEWS: Catherine, I think you’re the youngest one here but you’ve certainly didn't live in the nuclear war age like a lot of us did. We were living through it where you didn’t know whether there was going to be an accident tomorrow or somebody’s going to push the wrong button. Starting at noon, I believe tomorrow, the strategic air command — top commander out there — the general, who’s job is to take the call from the commander-in-chief should we get into nuclear situation and it's voice recognition. It’s technology. Five minutes to noon? Obama could make that call. He won’t, of course, but he might. He could. Five minutes after noon? Trump. So, the voice that's recognized on the phone is commander in chief. He has the potential to do the stuff that scares the bedickens out of people — the dickens out of people who’ve actually been briefed.
CATHERINE RAMPELL: With good reason!
MATTHEWS: And he will be briefed tomorrow morning or tonight on what his potential — how many people to kill with each button. It's horrible but it's real.
RAMPELL: Yes. I mean, not to play into the public's fear, but yes. That is somewhat terrifying to me, given that Trump does not have the greatest impulse control and when he says that he gets attacked, he punches back. What does that mean when he has greater weapons with which to punch? I don’t know. One would hope as Obama has stated, Trump will be sober by — and awed by the powers of his new office, by the responsibilities he would be imbued with and we just have to hope all effort from the contrary from the last year —
MATTHEWS: Well, I think that’s one thing everyone on the planet can agree with.
RAMPELL: Yes.
