[CNN] Trump is against nuclear non-proliferation, or maybe not?

[Subyman]

the candidate said the United States has to “talk about” allowing Japan and South Korea to have a nuclear arsenal of their own. He also referred to his fear of “nuclear global warming,” whatever that is.

COOPER: So you have no problem with Japan and South Korea having...

TRUMP: I thought...

(CROSSTALK)

COOPER: ... nuclear weapons.

TRUMP: At some point we have to say, you know what, we're better off if Japan protects itself against this maniac in North Korea, we're better off, frankly, if South Korea is going to start to protect itself, we have...

COOPER: Saudi Arabia, nuclear weapons?

TRUMP: Saudi Arabia, absolutely.

COOPER: You would be fine with them having nuclear weapons?

TRUMP: No, not nuclear weapons, but they have to protect themselves or they have to pay us.

Here's the thing, with Japan, they have to pay us or we have to let them protect themselves.

COOPER: So if you said, Japan, yes, it's fine, you get nuclear weapons, South Korea, you as well, and Saudi Arabia says we want them, too?

TRUMP: Can I be honest with you? It's going to happen, anyway. It's going to happen anyway. It's only a question of time. They're going to start having them or we have to get rid of them entirely. But you have so many countries already, China, Pakistan, you have so

many countries, Russia, you have so many countries right now that have them.

Now, wouldn't you rather in a certain sense have Japan have nuclear weapons when North Korea has nuclear weapons? And they do have them. They absolutely have them. They can't -- they have no carrier system yet but they will very soon.

Wouldn't you rather have Japan, perhaps, they're over there, they're very close, they're very fearful of North Korea, and we're supposed to protect.

COOPER: So you're saying you don't want more nuclear weapons in the world but you're OK with Japan and South Korea having nuclear weapons?

TRUMP: I don't want more nuclear weapons. I think that -- you know, when I hear Obama get up and say the biggest threat to the world today is global warming, I say, is this guy kidding?

The only global warming -- the only global warming I'm worried about is nuclear global warming because that's the single biggest threat. So it's not that I'm a fan -- we can't afford it anymore. We're sitting on a tremendous bubble. We're going to be -- again, $21 trillion. We don't have money.

COOPER: So you have no security concerns...

TRUMP: We're using all of the money...

COOPER: ... about Japan or South Korea getting nuclear weapons?

TRUMP: Anderson, when you see all of the money that our country is spending on military, we're not spending it for ourselves; we're protecting all of these nations all over the world. We can't afford to do it anymore.

Trump is obviously very confused. He is against proliferation, but he wants Japan, SK, and Saudi Arabia to have nukes (I think?? He flip flops all over the place.) It is so sad to see someone running for president not know what the hell they are talking about.

Reading that transcript should give anyone pause about Trump's thought process. Its like reading the mad ramblings of someone talking about a topic they know nothing about.

Full transcript: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1603/29/acd.02.html

 

[Fanatical Meat]

Strange thing is he has a very valid point about NATO funding & sending troops places where most of our Allies send the absolute minimum required. He just panders so much in an attempt to appeal to everyone.

 

[Jhhnn]

Strange thing is he has a very valid point about NATO funding & sending troops places where most of our Allies send the absolute minimum required. He just panders so much in an attempt to appeal to everyone.

Trump says whatever crosses his mind at the time. Most of the time, he has absolutely no idea what he's talking about so he just wings it in the fashion of all narcissists.

 

[Subyman]

He's been focus testing on the largest scale possible. Feeling out the audience, if you will.

 

[Indus]

Lets nuke Russia, oh no I meant lets nuke Raliegh North Carolina, oh no I meant lets show our love for Rwanda.

I thought after W. we would never ever see an incompetent person come close to the Commander in Chief position but oh my gosh.. was I wrong.

 

[SP33Demon]

He wants less nukes in the hands of bad guys and more nukes in our allies' hands so we don't have to pay for their protection. Duh. You guys are pretty slow. And the OP adding the word proliferation is even funnier, that word never came up during the interview. Trump used the term nuclear global warming which implies non-ally countries getting nukes which he is against. He is for our allies getting nukes because it creates less reliance on us (obviously).

 

[Blackjack200]

He wants less nukes in the hands of bad guys and more nukes in our allies' hands so we don't have to pay for their protection. Duh. You guys are pretty slow. And the OP adding the word proliferation is even funnier, that word never came up during the interview. Trump used the term nuclear global warming which implies non-ally countries getting nukes which he is against. He is for our allies getting nukes because it creates less reliance on us (obviously).

Haha, right.

What about his abortion comments today, care to spin that one away?

Trump has set fire to the Republican Party. Beltway pundits are starting to talk seriously about Republicans losing the house. Unthinkable six months ago.

Your boy is a pathetic piece of shit. What an amazing business talent to start from a modest 9 figure inheritance and go bankrupt multiple times.

 

[SP33Demon]

Haha, right.

What about his abortion comments today, care to spin that one away?

Trump has set fire to the Republican Party. Beltway pundits are starting to talk seriously about Republicans losing the house. Unthinkable six months ago.

Your boy is a pathetic piece of shit. What an amazing business talent to start from a modest 9 figure inheritance and go bankrupt multiple times.

Re: abortion comment he obviously had to listen to his advisers on that one (and I disagree with them and agree with Trump). It was pretty obvious that he meant women should be punished for breaking the law and I have no problem with that IF abortion was illegal. They are the ones arranging the killing while doctors are the ones doing it, they are hardly the victims lol.

And if you really think DT has personally gone bankrupt then I have a bridge in Brooklyn to selll you. /snicker

Have fun voting for hillary, she's actual just a female version of W anyway.

 

[uclaLabrat]

Re: abortion comment he obviously had to listen to his advisers on that one (and I disagree with them and agree with Trump). It was pretty obvious that he meant women should be punished for breaking the law and I have no problem with that IF abortion was illegal. They are the ones arranging the killing while doctors are the ones doing it, they are hardly the victims lol.

And if you really think DT has personally gone bankrupt then I have a bridge in Brooklyn to selll you. /snicker

Have fun voting for hillary, she's actual just a female version of W anyway.

Well if you believe Ivanka's anecdote about trump pointing to a homeless man and saying "he has about $8B more than I do" then yeah, I'd say that qualifies as bankrupt.

 

[SP33Demon]

Well if you believe Ivanka's anecdote about trump pointing to a homeless man and saying "he has about $8B more than I do" then yeah, I'd say that qualifies as bankrupt.

He's never filed for personal bankruptcy. He still had massive assets when he said that to ivanka.

 

[Blackjack200]

Re: abortion comment he obviously had to listen to his advisers on that one (and I disagree with them and agree with Trump). It was pretty obvious that he meant women should be punished for breaking the law and I have no problem with that IF abortion was illegal. They are the ones arranging the killing while doctors are the ones doing it, they are hardly the victims lol.

Sure. I mean, it's like the rape and incest exception. If you really truly believe that abortion is murder then it makes no sense to have exemptions for rape and incest any more than it would make sense to allow the murder of a child who was the product of rape or incest.

Certainly if abortion was murder you would arrest and punish any woman that arranged for this murder to occur.

The problem is that you can't say that out loud because then everyone realizes how horrifying the pro life position is. Trump said it out loud. He touched the poop.

 

[woolfe9998]

Trump says whatever crosses his mind at the time. Most of the time, he has absolutely no idea what he's talking about so he just wings it in the fashion of all narcissists.

Yeah, that's how I see it. He just shoots from the hip. I bet some of his campaign people are wincing at some of the stuff he says on the fly. Eventually, during the general election, he'll say something that will put his political lights out once and for all.

 

[Meghan54]

Yeah, that's how I see it. He just shoots from the hip. I bet some of his campaign people are wincing at some of the stuff he says on the fly. Eventually, during the general election, he'll say something that will put his political lights out once and for all.

He reminds me of an idiot savant, but with more idiot and much less savant.

 

[kage69]

Lets nuke Russia, oh no I meant lets nuke Raliegh North Carolina, oh no I meant lets show our love for Rwanda.

I thought after W. we would never ever see an incompetent person come close to the Commander in Chief position but oh my gosh.. was I wrong.

Funny isn't it? How being remarkably ill informed and a nepotistic chicken hawk became so fashionable on the right? And they wonder why their political future is in the shitter.

 

[Jhhnn]

Sure. I mean, it's like the rape and incest exception. If you really truly believe that abortion is murder then it makes no sense to have exemptions for rape and incest any more than it would make sense to allow the murder of a child who was the product of rape or incest.

Certainly if abortion was murder you would arrest and punish any woman that arranged for this murder to occur.

The problem is that you can't say that out loud because then everyone realizes how horrifying the pro life position is. Trump said it out loud. He touched the poop.

He violated the norms of conservative compartmentalization & denial, no doubt. Not that they realize it's what they're doing, of course. Their beliefs are inviolable, even when contradictory.

 

[Sonikku]

Japan might be responsible enough to have them but they're probably the only people on the planet that would oppose such a possibility even if given the option.

Doesn't matter though. This is just Trump Being Trump.

 

[Subyman]

He wants less nukes in the hands of bad guys and more nukes in our allies' hands so we don't have to pay for their protection. Duh. You guys are pretty slow. And the OP adding the word proliferation is even funnier, that word never came up during the interview. Trump used the term nuclear global warming which implies non-ally countries getting nukes which he is against. He is for our allies getting nukes because it creates less reliance on us (obviously).

You are such full of shit. Read the interview. The word proliferation comes up seven times.

COOPER: That's what you said to The New York Times. You said you worried about the proliferation of nuclear weapons...

TRUMP: Right.

Nuclear non-proliferation is the concept of not letting more countries get nuclear weapons and reducing the stockpile of current nuclear powers. It has been the policy of the US since the treaty was signed in 1968. Only a complete idiot would want to back track on that and let more countries get nuclear weapons and increase the number of weapons world wide. A complete and utter fool. NATO ensures smaller countries do not need to stockpile and secure their own arsenal. Trump would have us do away with that too. He's clueless.

 

[werepossum]

He wants less nukes in the hands of bad guys and more nukes in our allies' hands so we don't have to pay for their protection. Duh. You guys are pretty slow. And the OP adding the word proliferation is even funnier, that word never came up during the interview. Trump used the term nuclear global warming which implies non-ally countries getting nukes which he is against. He is for our allies getting nukes because it creates less reliance on us (obviously).

I would not have gotten that from nuclear global warming if I had a thousand guesses.

I too am for our allies getting nukes and our enemies not getting nukes. I'm just not sure why that is so hard to actually say.

 

[Pocatello]

He's the perfect presidential candidate for so many Americans out there, they're as stupid and delusional as he is.

 

[Jhhnn]

I would not have gotten that from nuclear global warming if I had a thousand guesses.

I too am for our allies getting nukes and our enemies not getting nukes. I'm just not sure why that is so hard to actually say.

Yeh, feudal kingdoms with radical religious police need nukes too, I suppose.

Or not.

Maybe the goal should be to prevent any new players in the nuclear arsenal game. Even better would be taking away the reasons they might want in, as with the Iran deal. I mean, who wouldn't want nukes with the Great Satan in their face continuously?

 

[lopri]

South Korea and Japan would love to build nukes instead of paying more to the U.S. Maybe we should let them and wait for the fireworks.. NOT.

 

[Subyman]

People that want to allow more countries to jump in with nuclear weapons are way off their rocker. We quickly learned that the fewer nuclear weapons there are in the world, the less likely there is that something will go wrong. Our allies don't need nukes, because we have them. If they are apart of NATO then an attack on them is considered an attack on all NATO nations. A MUCH better arrangement than having more governments with the launch codes. Any sane person realizes this.

Although Japan is not a member of NATO, we have the USFJ, which is nearly the same thing. Any attack on Japan would be an attack on the US military. That way Japan is protected, but we get the benefit of holding the keys to nuclear weapons.

Again, the fewer countries that have nukes the better for both security and leverage (on our end.)

 

[flexy]

Strange thing is he has a very valid point about NATO funding & sending troops places

If he refers to certain wars in the M.E. with more than questionable outcomes, then yes.

If he refers to stationed troops in, say Europe (like he did in the past), basically saying Germans, other Europeans etc. should get off their asses, take a leading role rather than having the US do all the work, better even "should pay the US for their presence" etc.. (as he argued)..then no.

Because it's the US which profits from their NATO presence here in Europe. The US's hubs to the Middle East, military bases and military hospitals, say in Germany. Missiles stationed on the outskirts of NATO, pointing towards East.

Do you think EUROPE "profits" from those missile bases?

We are a fucking first target in any potential conflict because of them.

We should not pay the US to have training grounds and bases in Europe, you should pay us 🙂

If you'd leave NATO and abandon EU bases I think it's more a strategic loss for you than for Europe.

 

[woolfe9998]

He reminds me of an idiot savant, but with more idiot and much less savant.

He's certainly the biggest idiot on foreign policy to have run for POTUS in my lifetime. By a long shot. It amazes me he hasn't hired a decent foreign policy expert or two to vet this nonsense before he says it publicly. He wants to pull out of NATO, and stop protecting Japan and South Korea, all because he thinks we're getting a raw deal on money. Yeah, foreign policy is just like making a real estate deal. If he gets elected it will damage our relationship with pretty much the whole world, before he even gets started, just based on the stuff he's said so far in the campaign. He's running for POTUS and he's already insulted most of our allies FFS!

 

[Meghan54]

He wants less nukes in the hands of bad guys and more nukes in our allies' hands so we don't have to pay for their protection. Duh. You guys are pretty slow. And the OP adding the word proliferation is even funnier, that word never came up during the interview. Trump used the term nuclear global warming which implies non-ally countries getting nukes which he is against. He is for our allies getting nukes because it creates less reliance on us (obviously).

Guess you didn't watch the interview, did you? Here are a few instances during the interview you didn't watch in which Cooper said proliferation and once when Trump himself said proliferation, all used within the context of nuclear proliferation....a concept Trump seems unable to define or understand.

COOPER: Let's talk about nuclear issues because you talked about this in a really interesting article in The New York Times.

TRUMP: One of the very, very big issues. I think maybe the biggest issue of our time.

COOPER: That's what you said to The New York Times. You said you worried about the proliferation of nuclear weapons...

TRUMP: Right.

COOPER: ... the most. You also said, though, that you might support Japan and South Korea developing nuclear weapons of their own. Isn't that completely contradictory?

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COOPER: But if you're concerned about proliferation, letting other countries get nuclear weapons, isn't that proliferation?

TRUMP: No, no.

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COOPER: It has been a U.S. policy for decades to prevent Japan from getting a nuclear weapon.

TRUMP: That might be policy, but maybe...

COOPER: South Korea as well.

TRUMP: Can I be honest are you? Maybe it's going to have to be time to change, because so many people, you have Pakistan has it, you have China has it. You have so many other countries are now having it...

COOPER: So some proliferation is OK?

TRUMP: No, no, not proliferation. I hate nuclear more than any. My uncle was a professor was at MIT, used to (AUDIO GAP) nuclear, he used to tell me about the problem.

COOPER: But that's contradictory about Japan and South Korea.

Again, from CNN's transcript of the interview: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1603/29/acd.02.html