During the 2024 presidential campaign, reported The Washington Post, Donald Trump told donors that he had threatened to bomb either Beijing or Moscow. “He thought I was crazy,” said the Republican about the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping. “He didn’t believe me, except 10%. And 10% is all we need.”
This variation on the “madman theory” of Nixon pushed the U.S. president to the extreme before the truce with Iran announced on the evening of Tuesday, April 7, by escalating further in threats, even going as far as posting, still on the same day: “An entire civilization will die tonight.”
While some of his supporters applaud him, these apocalyptic remarks are met with significant backlash in the United States, as noted by the newspaper. “His post caused panic about a nuclear attack and fueled public debate about his credibility, morality, and mental health.”
“The White House made an unusual statement, clarifying that the government was not considering the use of nuclear weapons, after Vice President J.D. Vance, speaking from Hungary, mentioned ‘tools from our arsenal that we have not decided to use so far.'”
“Pure madness”
Critical voices spoke out.
