During Tuesday's GOP debate, erstwhile conservative Hugh Hewitt asked the following question to Donald Trump:
"Dr. Carson just referenced the single most important job of the president, the command, the control and the care of our nuclear forces. And he mentioned the triad. The B-52s are older than I am. The missiles are old. The submarines are aging out. It's an executive order. It's a commander-in-chief decision.
What's your priority among our nuclear triad?"
Mr. Trump's response about the larger issue of nuclear proliferation has been widely (and disingenuously) reported as revealing a disqualifying lack of knowledge necessary to be our Commander in Chief. However, an objective review of this exchange leads to the opposite conclusion:
First, Hewitt's preface to his question already defined the triad, so there was no reason for Trump to repeat it.
Secondly, his actual question was about prioritizing our nuclear triad. This is a nonsensical question in that a triad relies on all three elements to be an effective deterrent. Even Sen. John McCain was unable to answer this question on Hewitt's radio talk show the next day.
Third, our nuclear triad is not even relevant to the current topics of national security and terrorism. We are not in danger of a massive nuclear first strike from ISIS, and it wouldn't take 1,000 nuclear weapons to pulverize Iran. The much more pressing issue is the proliferation of nuclear weapons into terrorist hands, whose liklihood has been increased by our recent nuclear deal with Iran.
As a result, the following conclusions can be drawn:
1. Hewitt's question was not serious or relevant to the Debate; rather it was an unanswerable "gotcha" question designed to provide fodder for those who oppose Trump's candidacy.
2. Trump's response regarding nuclear proliferation was entirely appropriate and indicated his larger view of national security, which is a much more important qualification for a Commander-in-Chief.
Sorry Hugh, you earned a "Fail" on this question.
"Dr. Carson just referenced the single most important job of the president, the command, the control and the care of our nuclear forces. And he mentioned the triad. The B-52s are older than I am. The missiles are old. The submarines are aging out. It's an executive order. It's a commander-in-chief decision.
What's your priority among our nuclear triad?"
Mr. Trump's response about the larger issue of nuclear proliferation has been widely (and disingenuously) reported as revealing a disqualifying lack of knowledge necessary to be our Commander in Chief. However, an objective review of this exchange leads to the opposite conclusion:
First, Hewitt's preface to his question already defined the triad, so there was no reason for Trump to repeat it.
Secondly, his actual question was about prioritizing our nuclear triad. This is a nonsensical question in that a triad relies on all three elements to be an effective deterrent. Even Sen. John McCain was unable to answer this question on Hewitt's radio talk show the next day.
Third, our nuclear triad is not even relevant to the current topics of national security and terrorism. We are not in danger of a massive nuclear first strike from ISIS, and it wouldn't take 1,000 nuclear weapons to pulverize Iran. The much more pressing issue is the proliferation of nuclear weapons into terrorist hands, whose liklihood has been increased by our recent nuclear deal with Iran.
As a result, the following conclusions can be drawn:
1. Hewitt's question was not serious or relevant to the Debate; rather it was an unanswerable "gotcha" question designed to provide fodder for those who oppose Trump's candidacy.
2. Trump's response regarding nuclear proliferation was entirely appropriate and indicated his larger view of national security, which is a much more important qualification for a Commander-in-Chief.
Sorry Hugh, you earned a "Fail" on this question.
