‘Nuclear football’ with launch codes accompanying Trump on Marine One to Walter Reed hospital a ‘deterrent’
When Donald Trump took to Twitter to announce that he and his wife Melania Trump had tested positive for coronavirus, the internet erupted into chaos. While thousands of his followers immediately sent their good wishes and support, there were also those who looked the other way (in particular his niece Mary Trump).
On Friday evening, when the news broke out, White House officials reportedly said that they "have serious concerns about Trump's condition tonight." Sources even said that his "symptoms are worse than those of the first lady at this point." Following this, he was airlifted to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. The White House said the visit of "a few days" to the hospital was precautionary and that he would continue working from the hospital's presidential suite.
When being lifted, Trump walked out of the White House and gave a thumbs-up but did not speak as he boarded Marine One. There is something else that accompanied him to the hospital.
Donald Trump's 'nuclear football', the briefcase which could literally bring destruction and doom to the world, was loaded onto Marine One alongside the President as he was airlifted to hospital for his coronavirus treatment.
The nuclear football, officially known as the "president's emergency satchel", is portable and hand-carried. Along with the "nuclear football", a military aide also accompanies him in case he needs to launch a nuclear strike at short notice.
According to a Washington Post article, the president is always accompanied by a military aide carrying a "football" with launch codes for nuclear weapons. Several reports elaborate on the high level of security of the nuclear football -- a metal Zero Halliburton briefcase carried in a black leather "jacket".
There is little to worry about even with Trump taking this along with him to the hospital. According to a report that explains the use of the football, "Its primary purpose is to confirm the president’s identity, and it allows him to communicate with the National Military Command Center in the Pentagon, which monitors worldwide nuclear threats and can order an instant response. The Football also provides the commander in chief with a simplified menu of nuclear strike options—allowing him to decide, for example, whether to destroy all of America’s enemies in one fell swoop or to limit himself to obliterating only Moscow or Pyongyang or Beijing."
Trump is not the first president to carry around the football -- its existence can be traced back to the 1962 Cuban missile crisis. Carrying the briefcase around is only a 'deterrent'. John F. Kennedy reportedly believed that nuclear weapons were, as he put it, "only good for deterring". He also felt it was "insane that two men, sitting on opposite sides of the world, should be able to decide to bring an end to civilization."
Will Trump make use of the nuclear football? Probably not - it is only a procedure that is being followed. For now, his main priority is getting better. After his hospitalization, Trump had tweeted a video of himself thanking "everybody for the tremendous support". "I'm going to Walter Reed hospital. I think I'm doing very well. But we're going to make sure things work out," he said. He added that Melania "is doing very well".