Experts ask if Trump disclosed classified intel after nuclear weapons talk at town hall
Donald Trump's remarks during Wednesday night's Fox News town hall in Greenville, South Carolina drew concern from several experts who are wondering if he once again revealed U.S. government classified information or was merely attempting to scare Americans into voting for him.
The 34-second exchange moved quickly from talk of religion and prayer to possible nuclear annihilation.
"I mean if you don't mind me asking," host Laura Ingraham began (video below), "because I know this is a very faith-filled audience here and I know there are people across the globe [who] pray for you and your safety – they're worried about your safety."
Trump sat up in his chair, pulled his jacket around him, and replied, "No, they are."
"And they, do you feel that? Do you feel the power of that?" Ingraham asked as the audience applauded.
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"I do, but can I be honest?" Trump replied. "I worry about their safety too. These people, everybody in this room is in great danger right now. We have a nuclear weapon that if you hit New York, South Carolina is going to be gone too. I worry about their safety. I think it's the reason I'm doing this."
If he did reveal classified information, it would be far from the first time. Trump's sharing of classified information was so extensive that in a likely unprecedented move, President Joe Biden, citing Trump's "erratic behavior," barred the ex-president from receiving intelligence briefings, which former presidents generally receive.
In 2022, The New York Times detailed several of Trump's concerning classified information sharing during his time as President, including his infamous early visit with top Russian officials inside the Oval Office, with no other American officials present in the room.
"Did the former President just unlawfully disclose classified information? Or just simply make something up to scare South Carolina residents to vote for him?" asked national security attorney Mark Zaid, who also works to aid whistleblowers. "I'm not aware of any acknowledged nuclear weapon that has that type of impact radius."
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Zaid also noted that "even as a sitting President he couldn't declassify all information related to nuclear capabilities unless authorized by Secretary of Energy (or their designee) pursuant to Atomic Energy Act, which controls Restricted Data."
Attorney Brad Moss, who also specialized in national security law and is a partner at Zaid's law firm, asked: "Is Trump out there spilling the details on our nuclear weapons and the destructive range of those weapons in the midst of a Fox interview? Is it me or is he doing that?"
Later, Moss lamented that the news media had not jumped on "the former president potentially revealing classified information about our nuclear weapons arsenal on live TV."
Watch Trump's remarks below or at this link.