There’s many things on the planet that can spark global conflict. Assassination, global alliances, money, religion; all of these thing, for centuries, have been the catalyst for the worst conflicts in human history. Now, if allowed to continue, Twitter can be added to that list. Since the election, Donald Trump has tweeted about various subjects, from refugees, to relations with China, to meandering about complete nonsense. Recently, however, the dictator-elect has partaken in a new issue: nuclear weapons.
The United States must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 22, 2016
Knowing Trump’s track record with tweets, nuclear weapons is probably one of the subjects you’d hope he’d avoid all together. Add that with the fact that the U.S. is the only country to ever use nuclear arms in wartime, the implications of tweeting such things would be taken very seriously. Thankfully, for people who don’t want to dive in to the depths of nuclear war, there’s been a long standing international nonproliferation treaty that prevents the U.S. from arming themselves with, and utilizing, nuclear weapons. The treaty also promotes responsible use of nuclear energy.
It goes without saying that the office of President of the United States requires a sense of, not only class, but self-control. Donald Trump shows zero of that within his social media correspondence. Commenting on the tweets themselves would be beating a dead horse, but the way they’re interpreted is something that no one seems to really acknowledge. Literally nothing is preventing any country Trump has insulted from interpreting one of many of his offensive tweets as a threat, and not only a threat, but a documented threat. It would take zero effort for someone to screenshot a tweet and keep it on file. That prospect, in political terms, seems outlandish and unrealistic, but so was Trump getting elected in the first place, so no prospect seems too outlandish at this point.
With Jan. 20 quickly approaching, many are wondering whether or not Trump will continue to personally tweet from a private account, or whether someone will take over. If the answer is the former, then the fate of not only the country’s image, but of its safety can be put into serious question.
A bright side (from the perspective of a 20-year-old minority) is that these tweets could call for grounds for impeachment. With a majority Republican House and Senate, that prospect has lessened dramatically, however.
Let’s hope that, in the next four years, the nation doesn’t fall under some form of post-cold war arms race, or God forbid, a nuclear war of some kind. I doubt that, during the inception of Twitter, the prospect of a president-elect possibly causing international nuclear conflict, through tweeting recklessly, was something that was never even an iota of thought in the creators’ minds, but Trump has surprised us before. He may surprise us again.
