PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Control over the country’s nuclear weapons is one of the most important powers of the commander in chief — and one that no president hopes to use. It’s also one at the center of this and every presidential election.
From the moment a country like North Korea launches a nuclear weapon at the United States, the president would have just six minutes — about the time it takes to walk three city blocks — to decide how to respond.
“It happens in seconds and minutes — not hours and days and weeks,” said Annie Jacobsen. “What would the president that I’m going to vote for do in that six-minute window, that he would be asked to make a decision that could kill 5 billion people?”
It’s a question the author has spent much more than six minutes pondering. She interviewed dozens of top current and former defense officials for her new book, “Nuclear War: A Scenario,” about America’s nuclear capabilities.
She said the United States is permanently on hair-trigger alert to respond to a nuclear strike, and it’s the president’s job to pull that trigger.
“The president of the United States asks permission of no one. Not the secretary of defense, not the chairman of the joint chiefs, not the Congress,” she said, which is why it’s so important to ask questions about a presidential candidate’s mental acuity.
Voters have been grappling with who they want as the next person to hold such power. President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign has waned since his abysmal debate with former President Donald Trump last month. During the debate, Biden struggled to complete sentences and fully respond to questions, raising much doubt about his mental fitness to hold office for another four years.
Biden, 81, remains steadfast, saying he will not bend to calls to withdraw his candidacy against 78-year-old Trump.
Jacobsen said as far as the president is concerned, nothing could be more important.
“Mental sharpness, judgment — these are absolute requirements from our commander in chief.”