Donald Trump on Wednesday responded to critics of his on both sides of the aisle who’ve consistently said they don’t trust him with the proverbial “nuclear button.”
“Don’t forget, they say, ‘Oh, can we trust Donald Trump with the button?'” Trump told an audience in Bangor, Maine, mimicking his detractors.
“I would be the slowest with the button,” he claimed. “But I would be the one who doesn’t have to use it because they’re going to respect us again. Nobody respects us now.”
A handful of Republicans have routinely said Trump cannot be trusted with America’s nuclear weapons arsenal because of his temperament. Such concerns led Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk to reverse his endorsement of Trump earlier this month.
“Given my military experience, Donald Trump does not have the temperament to command our military or our nuclear arsenal,” Kirk tweeted on June 7.
