Trump's red button: The myth and reality of nuclear control
"My button is stronger. And it works," stated the then-President of the United States, Donald Trump, in 2018. He was referring to threats from North Korea's president, who was intimidating the USA with the prospect of a nuclear attack. In reality, a nuclear red button does not exist, although it commonly serves as a mental shortcut for a tool thought to initiate a nuclear exchange. As with every myth, there is a grain of truth in it.
The red button, which, when pressed by the leader of a nuclear power, is thought to start a global nuclear conflict, is one of the popular myths of pop culture. The notion of the world's destruction being triggered by the movement of a finger captivates the imagination but—at least in the case of the United States—is entirely untrue.
Desk with a red button
American presidents work at a unique piece of furniture. The Resolute desk was crafted from the wood of a ship with the same name. The British vessel, which was on an Arctic rescue mission in the mid-19th century, became icebound. Years later, it was found by an American whaler, and the ship, towed to port, was repaired at the expense of the USA and subsequently returned to Great Britain.
When the Resolute ended its service under the British flag years later, Queen Victoria had four desks made from its wood. She gifted one of them to President Rutherford Hayes. A plaque was placed on it stating: "The queen of Great Britain presented a desk made from the wood of a ship to the president of the United States as a token of the noble and kind act of restoring the Resolute."
This very desk remains in the White House in the middle of the Oval Office. Over the years, a small wooden box with a red button has sat on its surface.
During Trump's presidency, the button served to order Diet Coke, but previous presidents also used it to summon staff—it can be seen on the desks of Presidents Obama and Bush, who introduced this element into presidential equipment. Joe Biden did not continue the tradition—during his term, the button disappeared from the Resolute desk.
Single responsibility
This, however, did not affect the ability of the American president to independently make the decision to destroy the world. The United States is unique in this regard.
When the president of Russia requires a suitcase with the Czeget communication system and the cooperation of the minister of defence or the chief of the general staff (or—according to some sources—both of them) to initiate a nuclear attack, the president of the United States decides alone, although theoretically, he should consult with advisors beforehand.
The fate of the world depends on the decision and judgement of one person, who—upon winning the election—begins to shoulder the responsibility associated with potentially giving the order to execute a nuclear attack.
Six minutes to decide
Pulitzer Prize-winner Annie Jacobsen details this in her recently published book in the US "Nuclear War: A Possible Scenario."
As gleaned from the information she acquired, the time window in which a decision must be made to activate the American nuclear arsenal is just six minutes. That's how much time the American president has to assess the situation and decide to launch the missiles.
How to start nuclear Armageddon?
The initiation of American nuclear weapons is not the domain of the mythical red button, but the "football." This term refers to a black briefcase that the president always has with him (carried by one of the accompanying officers).
Like the Russian Czeget system, the briefcase contains communication tools and several documents with scenarios for a nuclear strike. The president's task is to choose one of them and confirm his identity using a presidential code card.
The identity—but not the order to attack—is verified in two stages, by the responsible officer and remotely by the Secretary of Defense. Only whether the person giving the order is indeed the president and the authenticity of launch codes are verified, and passing the order through the chain of command is supposed to occur automatically.
How do we know the president isn't insane?
This single responsibility for nuclear war, effectively the destruction of the world, sparked a debate in the American Senate a few years ago. The issue of security weaknesses was raised: if the president wanted to destroy the world for an irrational reason, there are no procedures or legally established ways to stop him.
Doubts are not new—during a 1975 training on the procedure to initiate a nuclear attack, Major Harold Hering asked: "How do I know that the order I received to launch my missiles comes from a president in his right mind?"
Instead of an answer, the major was immediately dismissed from service. The justification was "failing to demonstrate desired leadership qualities" and a military statement that knowing whether an order was issued legally is beyond the competence of the officer tasked with executing it.
